


Hero

by BlackRabbit



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Romance, Suspense, drame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 06:35:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3599928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRabbit/pseuds/BlackRabbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Riley Palmer is called in as a consultant on a serial murderer, she gets more than she bargains for with the BAU. The ending may not be what is expected....</p><p>Songs in the chapter titles compiled below<br/>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBbAqjuiwZ30kdxPDGKisgZ4JBoU3qj87<br/>All songs to their respective owners. I do not own them or Criminal Minds, just the OC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.  
Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Chapter One  
Promises, Promises  
Incubus

 

Early morning light filtered dimly through the blinds in Riley Palmer’s hotel room. Everything was silent and still, undisturbed. The alarm sounded loudly, echoing from the walls of the sparsely furnished room, but was immediately cut off. Silence ruled once more, but only for a moment. 

Riley sat up slowly, running her fingers through her dark brown hair. Her feet touched the floor, but she didn’t stand. Instead she took a deep breath and braced her hands on the edge of the bed. She didn’t want to get up, but at the same time she was ready.

It had been a long night of tossing and turning for her. First day jitters were always the worst. All night she wondered about the people she would be working on this case with. That along with the worry of being late the first day made her wake up every few hours in fear of her alarm failing. So she had laid there and stared at the clock for a half hour, her stomach turning too much for her to get up. 

Her azure eyes drifted from the thick beige carpet to the desk beside the door. A locked briefcase sat alone on its surface. The contents of the briefcase were why she was even in Quantico. She had been sent as a case specialist to help the BAU with their investigation. Her first field assignment and she was assigned to a serial killer. Go figure. 

A low sigh escaped her slightly parted lips as she rose to get dressed. Now was as good a time as ever to get up and get going. It would be a terrible first impression if she was late the first day. With one last look at the briefcase, she disappeared into the bathroom.

 

Forty-five minutes later she was walking into the BAU office, her stomach still rolling as she exited the elevator. The office was pretty much empty except for a few early risers catching up on the previous day’s paperwork. Only one of them looked up when she entered and gave her a welcoming smile. “Down the hall to the left.” The man smiled and Riley thanked him quietly. 

The platform seemed much longer once she was on it, or maybe it was just panic. Her fist tightened around the suitcase handle but she tried to walk with confidence. If she could keep it up, maybe she could hide the butterflies in her stomach. But these were profilers and she was sure to have a tell. That made her grin bitterly. Something about the “mind reading” quality of profilers made her sick. Not that she didn’t like them, she didn’t know them. It was just too easy for them to tell what you were thinking and that was scary on an almost unexplainable level.

As she neared the end of the platform, she noticed the door wasn’t completely closed. Through the cracked door, she could see a man sitting alone at a large round table. He had papers all around and a notebook in his hand. He didn’t look too much older than her, but his eyes seemed very intense and focused. His hair on the other hand was the opposite. It was a little long and tousled like a young boy. He wore black pants and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up around his elbows and a dull blue button up vest with darker blue chevron and matching tie. Riley thought she even caught a glimpse of black Converse shoes under the table. She caught herself grinning at the sight of him but it quickly faded when she realized she couldn’t stand out here forever. She had to step in and face him. The first team mate she would meet. 

As she stepped into the room the man looked up at her, his dark eyes searched her over. He was a profiler then. Riley felt exposed. Fingers tightened around the handle of the briefcase and she swallowed hard. Maybe he could tell how uncomfortable his penetrating gaze was making her because he looked her in the eye and smiled. He was waiting for her to speak.

“I’m Riley Palmer. I’m here to help with the cross country killings….” Her introduction was awkward. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” The papers on the table caught her eye, anything to break from his gaze. Had she already made a fool of herself?

“Agent Palmer?” His brow furrowed in questioning, his head tilting slightly to the side. 

“Yes?” Riley answered, not sure where he was going with this.

“You introduced yourself as Riley Palmer, not Agent Palmer. Why didn’t you introduce yourself by your title?”

Riley hesitated, “Well, this is my first field assignment so….” She stumbled on the words. Honestly, she didn’t have a reason for not including her title. He was making her uncomfortable with his gaze and questioning. 

The man nodded, his lips pursed in understanding. “You’re not used to the title so you don’t use it. I thought maybe you didn’t feel like you deserved the title. Most people hide their titles because they either feel they will be perceived as a braggart, or just the opposite, boring. Then there are some who avoid it because they feel they don’t deserve it.” The man shrugged, as Riley took an instinctive step back.

The confused look crossed him again but before he could speak another word Rossi walked in. Riley quickly stepped out of the way, turning to face him in the process. 

Rossi looked from the seemingly flustered Riley, to the calm but confused Reid. The older man smirked a little before turning his attention to Riley. She was about six inches shorter than him, and rather average. She had a pretty face, but not super model material. Her bright blue eyes were fixed on him, but she broke her gaze to look at Reid once more before looking back to Rossi. Medium length brown hair swung in loose natural curls when she turned her head. It was obvious that she was nervous and possibly even intimidated by the younger agent. 

With a charming grin, Rossi held out a hand to Riley, guiding her to sit down a few places from Reid, who continued to watch her. “Agent Palmer I presume? Welcome to the BAU. I’m Unit Senior Agent David Rossi. This is Doctor Spencer Reid. He’s harmless.” With a joking tone he raised an eyebrow to Reid. “Go ahead and set up the file. The other agents should be here soon.” 

Riley sighed, her heart still racing. She refused to look up at Reid even though she could feel his eyes on her. One by one she pulled files out of her briefcase and lined them up in neat piles evenly spaced, according to date.

Reid watched her with his brow furrowed as she lined up the documents in even rows. Obsessive compulsive? He wasn’t sure. Dedicated was a better word. He noticed the writing on the front of the files. Each was noted by file number, date, victims, and location. This time, Reid smiled. “I think we should start over.” She looked up as he spoke, his hand extended. It wasn’t something he normally did, shaking a strangers hand, but for some reason it felt right. At first she looked at it as if she didn’t know what to do, but she finally accepted it. “I’m Doctor Reid.”

“Riley. Or Palmer….whichever you prefer.” She almost tripped over her words at the touch of his hand. It was much warmer and firmer than she had expected. “I’m sorry. Meeting new people makes me nervous.”

“It’s okay. Most people are nervous when meeting others for the first time. Sometimes an underlying social anxiety disorder can cause a person to freeze in when talking to strangers because they fear being embarrassed or scrutinized if they happen to make a mistake.” Reid grinned and shrugged it off as Garcia entered with two big cups of coffee. She set one down next to Riley’s papers with the friendliest smile, her bright green earrings dangling freely around her bright and happy face.

“I’m Penelope Garcia. Resident technical goddess.” She extended a hand as Reid had done and Riley took it with little hesitation. “I didn’t know what kinda coffee you drink but Rossi said try something sweet so I have a mocha frappe whipped cream thingie with extra chocolate.” She waved her hand over it quickly, almost dismissively. Riley liked her immediately. It was hard not to with Garcia’s outlandish hairstyle and bright colored clothes. Her smile also had a way of making you feel like you had known her forever. Riley liked that. It was a nice kind of comfort that she didn’t have with anyone in her home department. 

“Riley Palmer, I mean….Agent Palmer. Or Riley….” Riley answered going thru the alternatives in her mind and feeling Reid’s eyes watching her. She pushed thru the thoughts to thank Garcia for the drink and silently wondered how Rossi would know she liked sweets. He had only met her once. Unless he was basing on the stereotype of women loving chocolate.   
Either way Riley was grateful for the coffee. Garcia spoke to Reid but Riley was organizing her case files again and wasn’t paying them much attention.

Rossi returned shortly after, with Hotchner and J.J. in tow. After a brief introduction they all sat at the table. Morgan strode in shortly after but no one seemed to notice his tardiness. Except for Reid, but he didn’t say anything. Riley was greeted by each and though Hotchner made her a little rigid with his intensely stern look, none seemed as intimidating as Reid had been when he first spoke to her. Maybe she was already growing used to being surrounded by profilers. It was still a little unnerving. 

“Agent Callahan had some personal business to attend to and won’t be joining us for this case but I’m sure she extends a welcome to you Agent Palmer.” Rossi spoke as he seated himself across the table from her. “Go ahead Palmer. Let’s get this party started.” He casually pointed to the files on the table. 

With a deep breath Riley stood, her fingers brushing over the files before her. This was it. The past few months she had been compiling these files and she was finally about to catch the sick bastard committing these crimes. 

“I guess I should start at the beginning.” Her slender fingers opened a folder and placed it in the center of the table. “Sam and Cathy Cooper were taken from a gas station near their home. No one noticed they were gone until the next week. They were supposed to be going on vacation but never returned. Their children attempted to file a missing persons report a few days after Sam and Cathy left home but since they were scheduled to be away, the police shrugged it off. The bodies were found in Florida where the next victims were kidnapped. Their car was never recovered. The third person, Corinth White was taken from the next town over from the Coopers, but she was an older woman with no living immediate family. It took longer for a missing persons report to be posted for her. She didn’t seem to have any ties to the Coopers. Tammy Smith was the fourth body found at the dump site in Florida. She was a stripper, taken as she was leaving work from a gentleman’s club off the interstate in Iowa. The other victims were the same. A married or dating couple with a random other woman. The first one close to where the couples are abducted and the ones after that are vagrants. Junkies, strippers, prostitutes. People society doesn’t notice missing. The new kidnappings take place very close in area to where the previous victims’ bodies were dumped.”

“How many bodies have been recovered so far?” Rossi asked as the others passed around the files. He grabbed one for himself and began flipping through the pages.

“Fifteen. A few of the dump sites had two or three of the extra women but we’re not really sure why. I have a theory but….nothing confirmed.” Riley shook her head.

“Make that nineteen. We got a call from Yosemite Montana. They found three bodies early this morning. I got the call while I was in my office, wheels up in thirty. I took the liberty of sending an agent to collect your things Agent Palmer. Don’t worry, I sent a woman.” Hotch stated, noting the way Riley’s face went pale for just a moment before she nodded and continued. Was she worried about someone going through her things or the thought of being on a plane? He was sure he would figure it out soon so he let it go.

“Nineteen then.” She nodded, and focused again but Rossi hadn’t missed the look. 

“These people don’t seem to have anything in common.” Reid started as he pinned the pictures to the bulletin board. “They vary in age, race, and obviously gender. How were they even able to make a connection?” 

“Well, I was given the case six months ago when the first victims were taken. I watch the news online from different areas around the country and I heard of another unsolved murder a month later in California. I knew from the news coverage that the people taken were from Florida. At first it didn’t hit me, but then I came across the file from the first victims and it sort of clicked. The causes of death all matched. So I contacted the PD from the city the bodies were recovered from and they sent me copies of their case files so I could see if there was a connection. For the past few months I compiled these folders but my superiors weren’t too sure of it being a serial killer. For a while they just shrugged it off but when the last couple went missing from Indianapolis two weeks ago they decided to take a look for themselves. They couldn’t figure it out so…here I am. I know that this team has to be asked into the case from the individual PD, but since it has crossed state line several times, this is considered a federal case so I assure you, we do have authority in any state where bodies are recovered.”

“This says the men were shot executioner style, but the women were pretty mutilated. Cuts, bruise, broken bones…. What kind of message is he trying to send here?” J.J. asked, looking expectantly between Riley and Reid. They seemed to be ruling the roost at that moment.

“Actually, the random women were shot too but through the temple and not the forehead. The women from the couples were the only ones that were mutilated. All of them were beaten, possibly for a long period of time. But their cause of death was bleeding out. That was what alerted me that these murders were linked. The wrists were cut in the same way. Only a few were sexually assaulted but there were no traces of fluids or fibers on the women.” Riley stated, pointing to a picture of a bloodied woman with huge black bruises on her body.

“So is he taking them for sexual purposes? It’s very inconsistent.” Hotchner flipped through the files, his brow drawn in concentration. 

“If it was for sexual urges, all of them would have been assaulted. There also doesn’t seem to be any preferences except that they are couples. That will make it hard to narrow down suspects. Not to mention these abductions take place all over the United States. No two abductions happen in the same place. The unsub has to be someone who’s able to travel cross country with the bodies and not be noticed.” Reid stood and turned his back to them, file in hand and began writing main points on the dry erase board.

“I think the unsub could be a truck driver.” Riley said, looking at Reid’s back. “That would explain how he travels so much and even gives ample space for the bodies to be stored. The bodies are found about a month after their abductions, with a new couple taken every month. But it’s never on a consistent day. The coroners said that the bodies had been frozen so it may be a refrigerated semi.” 

“But what about the victims’ vehicles?” Morgan asked. “If most of the victims are taken from public places, they must have cars. This guy would need an accomplice to dispose of the vehicles or the cops would be alerted a hell of a lot faster of missing persons. Most businesses call a wrecker for cars left in a parking lot too long.” 

“About 3.4 million truck drivers employed in the United States, give or take since turnover rate for truck drivers is relatively high. The percentage of team drivers fluctuates just as much but most truck driving teams are husband and wife.” Reid stated, turning back to face the group as he fiddled with the dry erase marker. Riley avoided his gaze.

“So can we agree on two unsubs?” Rossi asked, tapping his finger on the table as he thought. His eyes remained glued to the points Reid was writing, piecing the puzzle together as they went, or at least trying to get some insight into the murders. 

“It would make the most sense. Seems a little improbable to transport vehicles or abduct two people at once without an accomplice. Two unsubs sounds reasonable.” Riley shrugged. It all seemed to make sense. Except a few little things, like where are these people being taken, and why? There didn’t seem to be much motive at this point. Maybe if she could get to a crime scene personally things might start falling into place. The problem would be, getting there.

“The plane’s ready. Let’s go.” Rossi checked his watch and rapped his knuckles on the table to signal the end of the meeting. The team shuffled their papers together quickly as they rose to leave. Garcia and Morgan quipped at each other, laughing but Riley was too nervous to listen to them. All she could think about was flying. It was a fear, she knew it. A fear she would have to come to grips with eventually. She just didn’t think that day would be today.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
Across the Universe  
The Beatles

 

The team settled into the private jet, laughing and talking amongst themselves. Riley followed slowly, stomach rolling all over again. She hated planes. Hated flying. At the end of the tarmac she paused, like her feet didn’t want to take that last step. But she also knew that the longer she stood there the more likely it was for the team to realize her anxiety. She didn’t want to seem weak to them or they may not trust her judgment later.

Quickly she stepped forward, pulling her case to her chest and catching up to Reid, who walked at the back of the line. The breath caught in her chest when she almost ran into him and he turned those dark eyes down to her. 

“Are you ok?” He asked quietly, his brow furrowed in curiosity. 

“Yeah…yeah I’m fine.” The words fell from her lips with no certainty but by the time she realized how she had said it, it was too late to change her inflection. Reid had turned to face her and she tried to face a smile. It wasn’t convincing.

“One in three Americans is afraid to fly and usually it has something to do with a deep routed anxiety disorder. Most people feel like they are not in control and it serves as a stresser to that anxiety.” He stated matter of fact. 

Riley just stared at him for a moment, rolling over what he said in her head before choosing a response that would help explain a little more of her situation. “If you’re suggesting I have an issue not being in control you’re wrong. I am not controlling, or I wouldn’t be in the line of work I’m in.” A small grin, this time real, showed him that she was joking. “Look, I’m not super claustrophobic, and I’m not afraid of the dark,” She noticed he shifted his weight a little. “Or of heights…I’m a barophobic.”

“Afraid of falling?” He knew the definition but he still seemed a little confused. Maybe he wasn’t really confused, maybe he was just asking so that he could fully understand what she meant by it. She was certain he knew the definition. But how it related to her, maybe he was just curious as to why she was afraid of falling.

“Yeah. Flying isn’t really dangerous, crashing is and falling is an inherent part of that.” Riley took a seat and Reid nodded. He understood now and went to take his place with his colleagues. His friends. She sat on the couch and tried not to look at them. Instead she opened the case and sifted through files that she had all but memorized. She tried not to look at Reid when he sat down beside her. The plane had started moving and her anxiety level was spiking. He was sitting way too close. It didn’t help. 

“You know this inside and out by now I’m sure. I’ll take a look. You get some rest.” Pale hand reached out to take the files. Riley hesitated, and then handed them over. “Sometimes sleeping helps with the anxiety.” He was trying to help her. Her blue eyes met his and she knew she had nothing to fear from him. His hushed tone indicated that he was still the only one on the plane that knew her fear of falling and that in some respect he understood why she didn’t want the others to know. 

Riley handed over the case file and in the transaction her hand was put into a fist and his encompassed her own. It was time for her to look confused. “It’s not mine. It’s a sort of back up that Garcia filled with everyone’s favorite songs.” He grinned at her and squeezed her hand before standing and taking the files over to the table for his team to discuss. She faintly heard him say that she just needed some rest and the others agreed and nodded without question. Morgan gave him a strange but knowing smile and Riley got the feeling that Morgan was turning Reid’s kindness into some sort of flirting. 

For now she would ignore it, taking it as a sort of joking that would be between brothers. This whole team seemed more like family than co-workings the way they joked and interacted. Riley was an outsider. But then what had he placed in her hand? The fingers unfolded to reveal an MP3 player and some ear buds. To help her sleep? She looked at him again, this time with kindness. But he did not look back at her. 

With the ear buds firmly in place she pushed play and closer her eyes, leaning against the wall and trying to relax as she felt the plane take off. Her hand closed tightly around the MP3 player as the first song started. 

 

Words are flowing out  
Like endless rain into a paper cup  
They slither wildly as they slip away  
Across the universe  
Pools of sorrow waves of joy  
Are drifting through my opened mind  
Possessing and caressing me  
Jai Guru Deva, Om  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world

It was oddly relaxing and Riley started thinking about the lyrics, concentrating on them, but only loosely. Rolling them around in her mind like a delicate ball. So many meanings. 

 

Images of broken light  
Which dance before me like a million eyes  
They call me on and on across the universe  
Thoughts meander like a restless wind  
Inside a letter box  
They tumble blindly as they make their way  
Across the universe  
Jai Guru Deva, om  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world

The dreams began from her thoughts. Shifting her seamlessly between reality and fantasy. The made up scenarios of her subconscious that rarely made sense.

Sounds of laughter shades of life  
Are ringing through my opened ears  
Inciting and inviting me  
Limitless undying love  
Which shines around me like a million suns  
It calls me on and on across the universe  
Jai Guru Deva, om  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Nothing's gonna change my world  
Jai Guru Deva  
Jai Guru Deva  
Jai Guru Deva


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three  
Death Valley  
Fall Out Boy

 

The endless rolling of tires on asphalt was better than the noise of her husband. The landscape changed constantly but she no longer enjoyed it. Candace Hill was in her late forties now but her face had aged at least ten years beyond that. She was small and thin, but strong. Not strong enough. Her reflection was vague in the window, light eyes and pale hair framed by pine trees and mountains in the distance. Sometimes she didn’t recognize herself, but the thought of getting out had long left her mind. Candace was brainwashed. Devoted to a husband that was anything but fair. 

Twenty seven years of isolation and torment had changed her to a completely different person. So when Tucker kidnapped and killed his first victims, she didn’t even argue. She obeyed and helped him do his bidding. It never crossed her mind to do anything other what he ordered her to do. Even now, as they drove along searching for their next victims she just sat there and listened. 

Tucker was a few years older than Candace but his face hadn’t been aged by the ravages of life. He was thick and round, but not weak by any stretch of the imagination. He was just as strong as a man half his age, although not as fast. He kept clean-shaven and his dark eyes held a sort of inherent evil that have all that he passed an eerie feeling. But due to his polite nature toward outsiders, no one had ever had a reason to suspect him of any crime. Tucker was a manipulator by nature and he had perfected his craft so much that it was second nature and he knew how to manipulate his wife most of all.

“Now look here, I don’t want the cops catching on to what we’re doing. We can’t keep taking people into our truck, it leaves too much evidence.” He growled at Candace as if it was her fault. She sat there and said nothing. “We’re going to buy a truck from a local. I’ve already found the guy, it’s old and beat up but it runs. You’ll drive it and I’ll point out who we nab next. I swear if you get the laws on us I’ll skin you alive.” He swore. Candace nodded her understanding. So far he had been taking people and she had been disposing of the extra vehicles. Lakes, swamps, cliffs in the middle of the desert…pretty much anywhere that it would be difficult to find. She had also been staking out the couples homes to get a good idea of their lifestyles before their abductions, since Tucker didn’t have the time while he was working.

“Why are you looking for this time?” Candace finally spoke but did not look at her husband. Her tone was not actually questioning as she had learned to tone at a level that would not draw his wrath on her. So far they had kidnapped a working class couple in Indiana, a lawyer and his wife in New York (small time lawyer as to not draw too much attention), a writer and his wife from Florida, an aspiring actor and his female friend from California, and likewise an aspiring musician and his girlfriend from Nashville. After all of Tucker’s teaching and instructing the men on how to treat a woman, one two of them had done all that Tucker requested. But they had protested in the end and had to be disposed of. Only the men that truly took Tuckers teaching to heart could be trusted and so far he hadn’t had any luck. But what was to be expected from a nation that held its women at almost the same level as its men? They had gone thru so many “extra” women that it was almost ridiculous. At the rate of people they were going through, they were bound to come up on the radar eventually and Candace knew that she would have no other choice but to go down with the ship. She only hoped that the distance between the drop sites and abductions would be enough to keep them under the radar longer and if the police were onto them, it might confuse them.

The last couple they took was very close to what Tucker was looking for. He had very specific standards but he wasn’t stupid. He knew that these people would have to be manipulated to realize the “truth”. In his mind all of the men were brainwashed into thinking that women were more than objects and it was his responsibility to bring men to the light. The way Tucker had been talking, he thought this next couple would be the one. The one that would help him prove to the world that men had strayed from their natural right. First, they would have to get this truck and find prime targets. This could change everything but Candace couldn’t try to get out now. She would be there until the end.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four  
Blue and Yellow  
The Used

 

“Palmer, we’re landing.” Riley was gently shaken awake by Rossi. The music was still playing but she quickly turned it off, but not before catching that it was something classical. Everyone else was gone but Rossi and Reid. She handed the device back to Reid with a quiet thank you and he just grinned in return and got off the plane. All of her files were back in place and she grabbed her bag and exited the plane. 

“Sleeping Beauty awakens.” Morgan joked when she joined them again. She felt her face flush as she laughed it off. 

The ride to the ranger station would take a few hours so the team loaded up in a van and started the second leg of their trip. This mode of transportation suited Riley a lot better and she hoped to take this opportunity to get to know the team a little better. There was just one problem…she was socially awkward and had a terrible time starting conversations with people. Hotch took the driver’s seat and Rossi got shotgun. J.J. and Reid piled in the back while Morgan and Riley took the two center seats. Once they were on the road, Rossi glanced back at Riley and said, “So, Palmer, what’s your story? How’d you manage to get this case as your first field assignment?”

“Well, I was actually approved to go on field assignments last year but I admit I was unsure about it. When I first joined the FBI that’s what I wanted. To work in the field. I was just waiting on the right time. When this case landed on my desk, I decided that this was it. This was the case I would put together and work.” Riley looked down at the black case, the product of months of hard work. 

“What does your family think about you suddenly taking a field assignment?” Morgan asked. He was fishing for information but Riley didn’t mind. “Anybody back home worried about it?”

“My parents live abroad and I’m single if that’s what you’re asking.” She smiled, showing him she was onto him. He chuckled in response.

“Got me. I was just wonderin' for my boy here.” Morgan joked, jabbing his thumb in Reid’s direction. The way that Reid stiffened and shifted Riley could tell he wasn’t comfortable with that idea. 

“Morgan….” J.J. warned, cutting her eyes at him and then back at Reid. She patted his hand reassuringly and Riley realized there was more going on here than she knew. One thing was for sure, she had her guard up for no reason. They may be profilers but none of them hid their own emotions. They all seemed very at easy with each other. Except maybe Hotch. He seemed to observe more than inject himself into conversation. Sure, he was intimidating but he didn’t give her a bad feeling.

“Sorry kid.” Morgan’s face went serious and Riley knew that he was truly sorry for his statement. When Reid nodded to signal that he was ok, Morgan looked back at Riley. “So. What are you into Palmer? Sports, games, movies?”

“Actually I am probably one of the most athletically challenged people you know. I can roller skate, throw a football, hit a baseball, and that is pretty much the extent of it. I don’t watch much TV, and I don’t get out much to watch movies. I like movies, but I guess the issue is that I prefer not to go alone and I’m afraid I don’t have many friends. I’m a bit of a Whovian and I have a lot of weird hobbies. Reading, sewing, writing, and all sorts of crafts. But I admit I have a hard time finishing things. It’s like I cycle between interests and if I want to finish something I have to wait until the notion strikes again.” Rile shrugged.

“Who’s your favorite Doctor?” It was as if Reid couldn’t help himself. He leaned forward in his seat and Morgan chuckled. 

“Well, I prefer Ten. The other Doctors are fantastic but there’s something about David Tennant. But I guess I’m a little bias since I loved his stage performances before he even became the Doctor.” 

And so it began. For two hours the team talked about everything from Doctor Who (which was mostly ramblings between Reid and Riley), to pets, and even some funny stories about pranks they had pulled on each other in the past. By the time they pulled over to stretch their legs at a gas station, Riley felt at home with them. Even felt like she was a part of the team. As if she had always known them.

“Ah, finally. I thought my legs were gunna fall off in there.” Morgan jumped out and stretched his arms over his head as Reid arched his back, hands firmly placed behind his hips to aid in the movement. Hotch and Rossi went straight in, followed closely by J.J.. The gas station was pretty busy, being the only one for miles on this stretch of interstate. Reid and Riley were back on the subject of Who and Morgan was walking ahead of them. Another couple stepped out ahead of them and Riley almost ran into the woman. After a quick embarrassed apology, Riley started to talk to Reid again when they heard a voice behind them.

“Excuse me.” Reid, Riley, and Morgan turned around. An older woman was standing there but she seemed surprised when the three turned toward her. She looked small and frail with pale eyes and dull blond hair. She looked around them to the couple who had just passed, her words seemed caught in her throat but she just smiled and spoke to Morgan, Reid, and Riley instead. “I’m sorry to bother you but my truck seems to have blown a tire a bit south of here and I need a little help to get the spare on.”

“Do you need us to call someone for help?” Morgan flipped out his phone but she quickly held her hands up in protest.

“I’m afraid that won’t do any good. My son is very ill so I am trying to drive to see him. I live in Lincoln Wyoming so I’m afraid any one of my relatives that could help me are too far away. Please, if I could just get one of you gentlemen to help me put the spare on?” Candace hoped that Riley would accompany them on the way. She needed her, or the plan would fall through.

“Well, I guess I could help. Reid, could you go tell Hotch to pick me up when you guys get done here?” Morgan looked at Reid, tucking his cell phone back in his pocket.

“I’ll go. I mean, I’ve learned so much from Reid, maybe I can teach him something practical.” Riley smiled and joked to Reid. At first Morgan wasn’t sure. He looked at Reid, then Riley and with lips pursed he agreed.

“Fine. We’ll meet you two in fifteen minutes. You hear me?” Morgan didn’t want to let them go but looking again at the woman he saw no threat and made a slow jog into the store.

A few minutes later, Reid and Riley approached an old beat up truck. It wasn’t far from the station but due to the terrain it was hard to see the team’s van from here. Candace opened the passenger side door and said, “That tire tool is in here somewhere…”

“I’ll find it for you.” Riley volunteered and Candace gladly moved aside for her. “Reid, figure out which tire is blown please?” She assumed it was on the drivers rear since none of these seemed to be damaged. Then she leaned over into the truck to find the tire tool. 

Without warning, Tucker rose up from the bed of the truck and put a thick arm around Reid’s neck, pressing a chloroform soaked cloth to Reid’s face with the other hand. In the same moment, Candace threw herself on Riley and pressed a rag to her face as well. Reid reached for his gun but the whole world was going hazy. From the corner of his eye he could see Riley struggling and he tried to speak her name but the sharp inhale only made him breathe in more of the chloroform. His head was spinning, and then everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five  
Schism  
Tool

 

Reid awoke with a throbbing headache and something metal digging into his ribs. All was pitch black but as his senses were coming back to him he could hear sobbing and feel the sway and bump of a vehicle traveling along a highway or interstate. He was laying on his right side, hands tied behind his back, and his feet were bound. There seemed to be something touching his left shoulder. Like a piece of plywood or maybe metal. Something had been laid over them, no doubt to conceal their presence in the back of the truck. 

The crying was coming from behind him and he knew it was Riley. His gag had come loose and with some shaking of his head it fell away round his neck. Not only was she sobbing uncontrollably she was panicking. Screaming behind her gag and trashing around in hysteria. If she kept this up she ran the risk of hurting herself, or even having a heart attack.

“Riley, Riley you have to stay calm.” He spoke, trying to keep his own voice calm as he backed up to her. She had her back to him too. On the plane she said she wasn’t super claustrophobic but she was reacting very badly to being trapped like this. Maybe she meant that it took very close quarters for her claustrophobia to show itself. She was trying to speak but between her whimpers and the gag he couldn’t make out what she was saying. He needed to try harder. He felt flesh graze his hands and he grabbed for it. It was her hand. His skin felt cool to hers now. Her panic had brought up her heart rate and her temperature. No doubt she was feeling even more suffocated by the heat she was giving off and that discomfort was only adding to the vicious cycle of her hysteria. He tangled his fingers with hers and felt her pulse through her palm. “Please Riley.” He tried a soothing tone. “If you keep this up they may kill us here and now. You have to calm down ok? You’re ok. I’m here.” His mouth felt dry. He was afraid but as he had said before, he did some of his best work in terrifying conditions and this time was no different. 

The truck started to slow down, and then came to a halt. Reid could hear someone walking around the side of the truck, and then the board was pushed back. Bright afternoon light rushed in and Reid had to close his eyes and turn away. Tucker reached in and retied the gag to Reid’s face. “Dammit Candace, if you hadn’t have picked up the wrong people….You better keep them under control because if we get caught because of you, I’m gunna make damn sure that your life in prison is hell.” He muttered darkly as Candace appeared with a large needle. In a moment she was leaning into the bed of the truck and administering the sedative, first to Reid, then Riley. “Maybe that’ll shut her up.” Tucker stated. “If she does manage to wake up and starts causing trouble again, call me and I’ll take care of her.” Then the board was replaced and strapped back down. Reid was beginning to drift off and Riley was growing still. His fingers still entwined with hers he could feel that her temperature was dropping and her heart rate slowing. As much as he hated being sedated and not knowing what was happening, he hated that she was panicking so much. Everything was fading out again and soon the darkness of his own mind was upon him once more.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six  
Pet  
A Perfect Circle

 

He was coming to again. This time his eyes would barely open. He felt as if he hadn’t slept in days. A haze hung over his mind and he was only half aware of what was happening at first. A few seconds passed and things were starting to become clearer. Instead of a hard truck bed, he seemed to be laying on something soft. A dim light across the room seemed to blur with every movement of his eyes. 

Tucker was leaning over him, cutting. Reid felt his wrists were finally free and blood rushed to his fingers. The painful tingling was so faint that it was as if he wasn’t really feeling his own body. It was something he was aware of but it felt so distant. 

“We start in the morning.” Tucker’s voice lulled through the fog and before Reid could even try to react, Tucker was gone. Start what in the morning?

Reid’s senses slowly returned and he realized he wasn’t holding Riley’s hand anymore. It took a lot for him to roll over, but he did. He didn’t see her. “Riley?” He whispered into the darkness. He was afraid. His throat felt tight but he was determined not to cry. If she was still in here she would need him to be strong. What a strange feeling. Needing to be strong for someone else. He hadn’t felt like that since….no, he couldn’t think about that now. Focus Spencer. 

Now he was able to sit up but the act made his head spin. “Riley? Where are you?” Then he saw her. She was on the floor; her clothing was gone and replaced with a simple white night gown. His stomach turned. Their captor had changed her clothes. He had access to Riley while she was knocked out….had he? Reid shook his head, his hand covering his face. How stupid had they been? To follow a stranger? He should have known better. The only thing that settled his stomach was the knowledge that very few of the female victims had been sexually assaulted. No, he had no proof that these two were the same people they were after, but it seemed to fit all to perfectly. A male and female kidnapped from a local place. A gas station. In the same area that the previous victims were dumped. 

“Riley?” He reached down and gripped her shoulder. She stirred at his touch and in a moment she was looking up at him.

“Reid? What….what happened? Where are we?” All too quickly she tried to sit up and fell back onto the hardwood. Tears came to her as Reid joined her on the floor. Gently he helped her sit up. 

“I think these are the unsubs we were looking for. We’ve been abducted but I have no idea where we are.” A second look around the room was sure to reveal more than the first, so Reid stood and walked around, taking in every detail.

It was a good sized room, furnished like a bedroom. There was one double bed with nice satin linens and comfortable pillows. Two small nightstands framed the bed; cheap ceramic lamps were the only decoration. Reid turned on the one on the right side of the bed and let his eyes adjust. It didn’t give off much light but it was better than the dim glowing of the nightlight placed beside the door.

The walls of the room were covered in yellow and red floral patterned wallpaper and the floor was spotless, polished hard wood. There were no windows but one of the long walls, opposite the bed, was made of three inch thick glass. On the other side of the glass, there was a long narrow room, spanning the length of the larger room’s wall. It was all black and there was one lone wooden chair, stained with blood. A large dog bed lay in the corner nearest the head of the right side of the bed. The only door seemed to be metal, with the hinges and locks on the outside. Between the door and the dog bed was a little table with one chair. A small metal hatch with a tray was level to the top of the table. Reid concluded that the hatch was how the unsubs were able to transfer food and items into the room without running the risk of opening the full size door. A large chest of drawers was on the left side of the bed, and between it and the bed was where Riley had been placed. The only other thing on that wall was a door frame with a curtain, no doubt a bathroom. The unsubs wanted total control and in order to do that, they wouldn’t be so stupid as to put a door that could help their victims get away from them.

“Everything in here is bolted to the floor.” Reid observed. He ran his fingers through his tousled hair as he thought. After several minutes examining the room, Riley spoke. Deep in thought, Reid had almost forgotten she was there.

“Reid?” Riley’s voice broke. “I’m afraid.” Her knees were drawn to her chest and he spanned the room in just a few steps. Down on the floor before her, the young agent pulled the frightened woman to him. She hung her head as tears began to streak her face. “I know what happened to those other women. Are we going to die Reid?” She was looking to him for answers he didn’t have. For once, his infinite knowledge had failed him. 

The case files were very specific about what had happened to the women they found. They were malnourished. They had numerous lesions, bruises, and broken ribs. A couple had been viciously sexually assaulted, and all of them had been killed by their wrists being slit and bleeding out. It was a horrible way to go and now it seemed that same fate was about to befall Riley. His cheek rested on her head as he thought about their options. The options were not promising. 

In that moment she completely regretted her decision to work a field assignment. “I’m so sorry Reid, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t come with your team, we wouldn’t have been targeted in the first place.”

Reid pulled back and lifted her chin, making her look at him. “This is not your fault Riley. If it wouldn’t have been us, it would have been someone else….” She sniffled and nodded in resigned agreement. Once she had wiped away her tears Reid spoke again. “Since they took us, we have a better chance of stopping them now. If we can figure out more about these unsubs and the connection between the victims we may be able to get out of here alive.”

“But the previous victims…none of them have anything in common. They range all over the place.”

“Did you have your ID badge on you?” He helped her to stand and led her to sit on the edge of the bed. Once there, she took a deep breath and started to focus.

“No. No I didn’t even have my gun on me. Everything is in my case file back in the van.”

“Good. I didn’t have my badge on me either.” He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Chances are they don’t know that we’re Federal agents. They probably just think we are civilians. Over 38,000 people in Montana alone have a carry permit so they probably wouldn’t have thought anything about my gun. That gives us a good head start. Our team knows we’re missing, but the unsubs don’t know who we are. If they did they would have killed us and disposed of our bodies already.”

“They…they took my clothes?” Riley looked down, finally fully aware of herself. “Why didn’t they take your clothes?” She reached out a plucked at his shirt. “Well, they did take your vest and tie. But they took all of my stuff? That doesn’t make sense.”

“We said before that some of the women were mutilated and some were shot. But all of the men were killed executioner style. Maybe the unsub has an aversion to women.” He looked around at the room again. “There’s a bed here but it’s hardly big enough for two people. I was put up here, and you were put on the floor. I was allowed to keep my clothing but you have been stripped of yours and given something else. Maybe the unsub thinks of women as material possessions? I’m the male so he still gives me comfort and allows me to keep my identity, while with you he strips you of everything that could remind you of who you are.”

“Did you see them?” Riley asked, finally standing and beginning a slow pace around the room. “I didn’t see him, but we both saw her. She looked frail but when she knocked me out she was a lot stronger than she looked. Not that I think she could have overpowered you, but with the way I was leaned over the truck seat she had little trouble with me. Although I think I may have elbowed her in the face. She looked pretty old. Maybe in her sixties. What about him?”

“He was large, overweight but not obese. Even all the extra weight didn’t affect his strength. I think even Morgan would have had a rough go with him. Probably late forties, early fifties. Dark hair and eyes.” Reid crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his fingers on his lower lip. “If he views women as material possession that would make sense as to why he is so big but she is so small. She’s malnourished but still strong. It seems like he’s keeping her strong enough to help him but just hungry enough to need him. Chances are she is actually younger than him. She may look older but with the stresses of their relationship her face has probably aged substantially.”

“If they were young when they married then he’s had plenty of time to dehumanize her. Chances are she’ll do whatever he wants without complaint.” Riley rubbed her forehead. “If she is as brainwashed as we think, appealing to her would only make him angry. Think about it; if he does think of women as objects, then me speaking to her would be a threat to his way of thinking. If you tried to talk to her, he may think of that as another male trying to control what’s his. Now I’m just assuming that our theories are correct, and if they are? Then what do we do?”

“I hate to say it but, I don’t think there’s anything we can do. We only have assumptions so far. We need to see if any of them are right to get a better profile. Then we can figure out what to do next. When the man left, he told me ‘we start in the morning.’ But I don’t know what he meant by that.” 

That was a lie. He had an inkling that the man meant torture. Probably of Riley. He eyed her with worry. She looked even smaller in that gown. Could he protect her? He had failed to protect Maeve, what if he failed here to? Rubbing his eyes to rid them of the memory only brought the sting of tears but he was too determined not to cry right now. Be strong Spencer. You can do this. 

“Does he expect us to sleep?” Riley joined him again on the edge of the bed. “Because I don’t think I can.”

Reid could hardly blame her. He didn’t think he could sleep either. Instead, he backed up to the headboard and made himself comfortable, then motioned her to join him.

“Reid…you seem pretty calm. Have you been abducted before?” Riley pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her head rested on her knees as she watched him. He really was an attractive man. His soft features and kind eyes drew her in. Made her feel like she could trust him, her feelings of intimidation long forgotten.

“Yeah. A few times actually.” He looked down, playing with his fingers as he spoke. “A long time ago I was taken captive by a man with a personality disorder. The personality called ‘Raphael’ tortured me while ‘Tobias’ injected me with um….” He hesitated. “Dilaudid. It’s a narcotic pain reliever and it’s highly addictive. There were a few other times too…”

“You became addicted to it? How did you get away?” She had raised her head and was looking at him with a sort of pity mixed with worry. “How did you overcome it? I mean, I assume you aren’t addicted anymore or you wouldn’t still be in the BAU.”

“I was made to dig my own grave. When the BAU arrived on scene, they were just enough of a distraction for me to grab Tobias’ gun and….and I shot him. For a long time after I escaped, I had nightmares and flashbacks of being tortured and I just couldn’t handle it. The dilaudid was the only thing that made it better but it also made me worse. I knew I had to stop but without my friends I couldn’t have done it. The BAU….”He shook his head. “They’ve helped me more than I deserve.”

“You’re lucky to have them. But, I get the feeling they feel the same way about you. We have a team a little like yours back home. They are together all the time. Good friends and they always go out and do things together outside of work. They’re close, but nowhere near as close as your team is.”

“Do you miss them? I miss my team when I can’t be with them.”

“I wasn’t really part of their team.” Riley forced a smile and looked away. “I just prepared and sorted case files. They did all of the field work. Besides, I’m a little socially awkward so I don’t’ really like being in physical contact with people I don’t know, and I have a hard time talking to people I don’t know. I’ve been in the same bullpen with the same people for years and I don’t feel like I really know them. If anything, I miss not being in danger.” She tried to joke but he heart just wasn’t in it. 

“You’re sitting close to me?” Reid looked at her questioningly. For being such a genius he was more like a curious little boy. Brand new to everything and wanting to know it all.

“Yeah…I guess I am. It varies person to person but everything we’ve already been through, and for what…”she stopped and swallowed hard. “For what I’m sure we’ll endure together, I may as well stick close to you.”

A moment of silence passed and Riley knew she had to say something. Silence in a time like this was a killer. “So. I bet Morgan would have some sort of joke right now about you sitting in bed with me.” A little crooked grin played on her face as her azure eyes watched his face intently. She was no profiler but she could try. Reid’s emotions seemed to play on his face more often than not, so maybe he would give something away.

“He’s always been like that. He thinks I need to lighten up, move on, and get a girlfriend. I know he means well but sometimes…”Reid just shook his head.

“Move on? Did you have a bad break up or something?”

“No.” He stopped, as if he was deciding whether or not he should tell her about Mauve. The coming days may very well be his last, and hers. Riley was an outside source, a fresh mind that hadn’t gotten tired of his depressed days when Mauve’s voice still rang in his ears. The team had never said outright that they were tired of his heartache but he was just sure he was on the verge of getting on their nerves. “Her name was Mauve. We used to talk on the phone every week at a certain. She would call this payphone and we would talk. About everything. She had a stalker and she eventually caught up to Mauve. The first time I saw her in person….” Reid could feel a catch in his throat and he quickly swallowed the lump. He didn’t want to cry. This was a terrible time to cry. After a moment to compose himself, he continued. “The stalker killed her. Right in front of me and there was nothing I could do.” 

“Oh Reid…I’m sorry. You know, if I ask something you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.” Gently, she touched his arm, but only for a second. In a way she felt that she was encroaching on his privacy. They hardly knew each other and she seemed to be asking so much from him.

“I know. Sometimes it’s good to talk about things. My team has been understanding in the year and a half following Maeve’s death but sometimes I think they’re getting tired of me being hung up on her.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. You seem to be a very caring man and if you loved her, then who says how long is appropriate to mourn? I’m sure they just want you to be happy again.”

“I guess so. I’m just not ready to move on yet.” He felt a little relieved that she had said that. Maybe he was over thinking things. “What about you? You said you don’t have anyone to miss back home. No family or friends? Boyfriend?”

“My family lives abroad. Once my parents were old enough to retire, they sold their house and started traveling. They’re in Rome right now.” She forced a smile. Rome was the one place she had always dreamed of going, and now she may never get that chance. “I have a few casual friends. People I talk to online but have never met in person. Please don’t give me a speech about internet safety. My mother does that all the time and if I have to hear the statistics one more time I might just snap.” This time her smile was real and Reid just shrugged. He was about to spout off the statistics but he just grinned instead. Shut down! After he motioned her to continue, she looked away again. “I had a boyfriend. But my story is less tragic than yours. I was with this guy, Caleb, for almost two years. He meant a lot to me and in a way I wanted him to be the one. I was completely committed to him. But um….I don’t really feel comfortable with the thought of sex before marriage. I know, it’s crazy, but it’s a choice I’ve had since I was young. All through high school I saw these boys telling girls that they wanted to have sex with them because they loved them. But none of it was true. I didn’t want to be used like that. I wanted to find a guy that would love me for who I was and not what I could give him. As you can imagine it’s hard for me to get a boyfriend with that mentality. And a lot of men my age won’t wait for a woman like that. I mean, why would they? Most men have sex before they’re out of high school and they’re use to getting it. So when I told Caleb that I wouldn’t and he seemed ok with that, I was thrilled.” Riley shrugged. “But I was wrong. What he couldn’t get from me, he got from other girls. By the time I found him out, he had already taken 8 women to bed. 8. Can you believe it? For two years he had been sleeping with any woman that he could and I never even knew it.” 

Reid didn’t have anything to say. He just nodded along and when she was done he realized he had leaned closer to her, his fingers gently holding the fabric of her night gown. All of the torment he endured as a child for being different. She was just like him. Used and tossed aside by those he loved. Very few had stuck by him and it seemed that even fewer had stuck by her. This was his chance to be a friend to stick by her.

He cleared his throat and pulled away from her, a little embarrassed. “We should get some rest. We know we can’t get out of here and we don’t know when morning is. So…so we should um….” He lay down on his back as she rose from the bed. “What are you doing?”

“Sleeping on the floor. You don’t think I’m about to take some strange man to bed do you?” Riley quipped. 

“No, I’ll sleep on the floor, and you can have the bed.” Reid was about to sit up when Riley put her hand firmly on his chest.

“Reid, if this man is as you think he is, what do you think he’ll do if he comes in here and finds you on the floor and me in the bed?”

It was hard but he knew she was right. He watched with great guilt as she pulled the large dog bed to the other side of the double bed, the side Reid was laying on. She didn’t want to be close to the door. Once the bed was in place she lay down and curled up in the fetal position. With her back to him, she tried to relax and go to sleep. Suddenly a blanket dropped down on her and she turned to look over her shoulder. Reid was already laid back down with his eyes closed, hand hanging off the edge of the bed.

Riley lay there and stared at it, heart racing in her chest. All she could think about was the warmth from his skin the first time they shook hands. It seemed like it had been forever ago when in reality it probably wasn’t more than 24 hours ago. A few minutes went by of her fighting with herself. Then she reached out and took his hand. He flinched at her touch but didn’t pull away. Maybe he needed it as much as she did. They didn’t know when morning would come, but they knew they would face the dawn together.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven  
The Lion and The Wolf  
Thrice

 

The hours seemed like days. Once they realized that Reid and Palmer were gone, the team searched for clues but found nothing. They rushed to the scene of the last victims dump site, gathered what information they could, then drive back to the airport. The ride was excruciatingly long, even with Morgan at the helm and driving like a mad man. The flight proved even more stressful for Morgan, who without having control over speed, had paced the length of the plane the whole time they were in the air. His behavior did nothing to calm the already frayed nerves of his team. Garcia had been alerted hours ago to Reid and Palmer’s abduction and she hadn’t taken it well. She had immediately started trying to narrow down the results of their trucker team search. 

Now the team was back in the home office. Except J.J.. She was meeting with a national news network to ask for information regarding the case. Anyone who was in the areas of the abductions that saw anything suspicious was urged to come forward. They knew that all over the country phones would be ringing off the hook but it was worth it to find their missing team members. J.J. called the primary stations ahead of time and warned them about the influx in calls and few of them weren’t happy about it but none of them declined to help her.

Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi stood behind Garcia as she typed away at her computer. Her fingers flew over the keyboard with great finesse as hundreds of names, faces, and addresses popped up on the screens that surrounded them. Morgan had given an accurate description of the face of the woman that had asked them for help and hoped that it would lead to catching the unsubs faster. He also hoped that they had not figured out that Reid and Palmer were federal agents. It might cause them to hide the bodies in places they were less likely to be found and go under the radar. They could lose the unsubs for years and Morgan wasn’t too keen on that idea. He wanted Reid back with them as soon as possible. 

“I don’t understand this, I’ve checked every database in the country and there are no driving teams with a woman like the one that you described Derek. “Garcia’s voice was shaky but her hands never stopped moving, her eyes never stopped scanning. She was searching as quickly as she could but it just wasn’t fast enough for Morgan. He ran his hand over his head as he paced and cursed. Garcia flinched as he stormed out and slammed the door. Rossi gripped her shoulder in comfort. They all knew that Morgan didn’t mean anything by it, it was just his nature. 

“I’ll talk to Morgan. Garcia, run through those records again and this time slow down. Take a good look at any women that received a CDL in the past ten years. Flag any of them that have ever been registered to a company as a team.” 

Morgan was pacing the round table room, teeth clenching and eyes blazing. He didn’t even look at Hotch when he entered. The older man stood in the door, hands in the pockets of his slacks. Even after everything his suit was immaculate as usual. Not a thread out of place. 

“We will find them.” He stated, as matter of fact as possible. He was sure they would find them, but not sure as to what state they would be in when they did. In a way he was trying to convince himself that they would find Reid and Palmer alive. But the clock was ticking and with every passing hour the statistics were less and less favorable. 

“How the hell could I let this happen? I know these creeps are out there and I just let Reid and Palmer go?” He looked at Hotch, hands gripping the back of a chair so hard Hotch could hear it groaning in protest. “I mean, if I was with Palmer it might be different, but Reid?” Morgan hung his head and shook it. He didn’t mean that Reid was incapable of keeping Palmer safe, he just knew what kind of man Reid was. Morgan was a bulldog, willing to fight first, take down the suspect with brute force. Reid would sacrifice himself to save someone else and it would be no different for Palmer. Morgan didn’t want Palmer to be hurt because she seemed to be a good person. But Reid meant way more to him and he wasn’t sure what would happen to their team if Reid was gone. 

“We make mistakes Morgan. You had no reason to think that a woman on her own, with no semi in sight would be a threat.” Hotch took a step forward but Morgan wasn’t accepting Hotch’s reasoning. He slammed the chair into the table and walked out around Hotch. It took a lot to keep him from tearing the bullpen apart. He needed to go out and get some air. Then he would go back and help Hotch, Rossi, and Garcia. For now he couldn’t be in the building.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight  
Meet Your Master  
A Perfect Circle

 

The sound of a metal door slamming and a chair being dragged across concrete stirred Reid from his slumber. He sat upright quickly, searching for Riley. Then the light clicked on and he shielded his eyes from the brightness. Riley was on the bed beside him in an instant, not completely awake yet but aware enough to be afraid. She clung to the arm Reid was propping himself up with. They looked toward the glass and saw Tucker and Candace struggling to tie a bound and gagged woman to the blood stained chair. 

The woman appeared to be in her late thirties with straight blond hair and blue eyes, made red with tears. Candace stood behind the woman, gun pointed at the woman’s temple. Tucker walked up to the glass and flipped a switch. A red light appeared by a speaker that Reid hadn’t noticed before.

“Boy, I’m about to teach you how to be a man.” He placed his hands behind his back and poked his chest out as if he was proud to be teaching another pupil. “As a male in our society you’ve been taught that women are your equal. You have been taught that they are to be treated the same as you. But have you forgotten who was made first? Men are superior to women son and it’s about time you learned that. We are faster, stronger, and smarter than them. They are ignorant and weak. Good for breeding and that’s about it. Because what else can a woman do that a man can’t?” He sneered at his wife, and then turned his attention back to Riley. “Who is she to you boy?”

“She…” Reid looked at Riley, unsure of what to say. If he said he didn’t know her, Tucker may think it would take more force to get her to obey him. But if he said they were a couple, Tucker may think it would take less. Reid looked at Tucker and Candace. If his and Riley’s theories were right, and Candace and Tucker had married young, Tucker may not have always been this way. He may have gained Candace’s love, then slowly turned into the monster he was today. If a man beats a woman he hardly knows, she will most likely leave. But if she thinks she loves him first? She is more likely to come back. Reid swallowed hard and Tucker demanded an answer. “She’s my girlfriend.”

Riley tried to hide her look of shock. She wasn’t sure where Reid was going with this but she was sure that he had to trust him or they may not get out alive. Quickly she nodded her agreement and gripped Reid’s arm tighter. He shifted a little closer to her, his body shielding hers even more.

“Girlfriend? How long ya’ll been steady?” Tucker eyed them suspiciously.

“We’ve been together for a few years.” Reid was making it up as he went and Riley didn’t object. “I was….I was planning on asking her to marry me once we got to Yellowstone. If….If you’ll just let us go we promise we won’t tell anyone about you.” He leaned forward, trying to reason with Tucker. “I mean, we have no idea where we are, and we don’t even know your names. You can just drug us, take us back to where you found us and drop us off. We’ll just say we eloped and….and all of this will just be over.”

“Dammit boy!” Tucker punched the glass, the woman flinched but Candace didn’t even move. Her gaze was still locked on Riley and the agent knew that she wouldn’t be able to appeal to her. “I brought you here because you were chosen! Do you know how many men would love to be in your shoes? I have many followers who would love to have instruction from me personally!” Before Reid could speak again, Tucker cut him off. “Listen here boy, you will learn from me. You will overcome the ways you’ve been taught.” He straightened himself and smoothed his shirt. “But I am an understanding man.” He said as he unbuttoned the cuffs of his plaid button up shirt. He began to roll his sleeves up as he spoke. “I know that boys today need some…convincing. You see this woman here?” He motioned to the blond lady. “She would love to go home tonight. And you can make that happen, boy. Take my lessons, and she can go home. Safe and sound. Her life is in your hands boy.”

“What do you want me to do?” Reid asked, afraid of the answer.

“Now that’s what I want to hear. I want you to show your girl her place. I want you to show her that she belongs to you. And to do that, you need to make her submissive to your needs. Your wants.” Tucker grinned maliciously. “Hit her.”

“Excuse me?” Reid’s face contorted in confusion and disgust. Riley released his arm and he looked back at her. Things had just clicked for them both. The reason that no prints or fibers had been left on the previous victims was because the unsub had forced the men to beat, and possibly kill, the women. “I can’t….I won’t” He looked defiantly to Tucker.

“You will, or I’ll kill this woman here.” Tucker pointed to the blond, who was sobbing at this point, her eyes pleading with Reid. She didn’t want to die and they knew it. But what was Reid to do? Could he beat Riley for the sake of that woman he didn’t know?

Reid looked at Riley again, his eyes searching her face but all he found there was fear. Tucker would break them down like this. He would make Riley feel that she was trapped in a room with her killed and the now pretend lovers would be divided. They had to stick together no matter what. And besides, Reid had never raised a hand to a woman before. Sure, he had killed people before but they were bad. Riley was good and sweet and….and she was just like him. He shook his head and took her hand. “I can’t do it Riley.”

“Do it! Do it damn you! Grab her up! Hit her!” Tucker’s thunderous voice made Reid shutter. It was a sensory overload. Tucker was screaming at him, the blond woman was sobbing loudly and now Riley was crying too and pleading with him to just hit her. She didn’t want the woman to die. So much was going on all at once and Reid couldn’t think. Eyes burning he grabbed Riley by her collar and stood from the bed. He pushed her into the wall and held his other hand high, ready to strike. Riley was gripping his wrist, eyes closed, ready for impact. But it never came. 

“Dammit boy!” Tucker was furious. Riley looked up over Reid’s shoulder, eyes wide just as Candace pulled the trigger.

The sound of the shot echoed through more than just the room. Reid could feel it in his bones. Riley yelped and hid her face and Reid’s hands grew shaky. He hung his head. He knew that he had just signed the death sentence of that woman. 

“I’ll be back you good for nothing coward, and when I come back you better be ready.” Tucker growled.

Reid’s hand released Riley as they listened to the dead woman’s feet dragging across the floor of the adjoining room. Riley covered her face as the lights went out. Reid pulled her close and she could feel his breath on her shoulder. It was sharp and ragged. He was just as upset as she was and now that their captors were gone, he was free to show that fear.

“I can’t do it. I can’t…” They sank to the floor and Riley put her arms around him just as he had done. They sat for a moment in silence, forehead to forehead, eyes closed, thinking. The white clad girl felt the shaking of her new friend’s hands as he locked his arms with hers. His grip was much firmer than she originally noticed. Maybe now that he was a threat to her life, she was sizing him up. Sitting here with the man that could kill her. The man who may have to kill her. And yet she didn’t want to be afraid of him. They had only been together a short time but she cared for him. She knew that he would be the key to saving them. All he had to do was obey everything that their captor demanded on him. No one wanted to be beaten, especially Riley, and yet, she knew what she had to do.

“Reid….you have to.” He shook his head in protest but she held his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. “Reid, I don’t want anyone else to die. Please. I…I can handle it. You have to do what he says.” Those blue eyes couldn’t fool him though, it was obvious that she didn’t want him to hit her any more that he did. But she really didn’t want anyone else to die for her. Because of her.

“You’ll hate me. If you can’t trust me, how will we get out of this alive?” 

“I won’t hate you Reid. Please, you have to save us. You have to save them. I know this is putting a lot on you, but our survival is riding on you Reid. Until we have a better plan, this is our only option. We don’t even know if they’ll open the door, but if they will, we can work from there. Spencer….I don’t want to die here.” Her eyes brimmed with tears and he knew this was as much for her to handle as him. On his end, it was psychological. On hers, it was physical. The young man pulled her close to him and as much as he hated to admit it, she was right.

“I’ll get us out of here Riley. I promise.” Nimble fingers stroked her hair as he rocked them back and forth, waiting for their captors to return. He would be forced to do the unimaginable, and she would have to endure it. 

The pair looked toward the door as they heard clanking. Peeking over the bed, they saw there were now two plates of food on the feeding tray. Someone, probably the female unsub, had brought them food and slipped it through the small metal door over the table. Reid stood and motioned Riley to stay where she was. Slowly he approached the table and examined the food. 

One plate had a hot meal. A couple of baked chicken legs, peas, and mashed potatoes. A can of beer accompanied it. A package of pre-wrapped utensils lay beside it. The other plate had a turkey sandwich. Plain, no cheese or other topping. Some saltine crackers and a glass of water completed it. Riley joined him to look at the food, peeling the top piece of bread back to reveal a lonely little slice of turkey. A dark eyebrow cocked in sarcastic distaste. “I assume this one’s mine.” It wasn’t a question. 

“I can’t eat this.” Reid shook his head and pushed the plate aside. “Not while you’re eating that. There’s hardly anything there.”

“Look Reid, we have to eat. You know that as well as I do.” Riley grabbed her plate and sat on the floor, her back against the bed. In a moment he was sitting beside her, ignoring the one lone chair at the table. He crossed his slender legs and placed his plate on the floor. Then he reached over and took hers. She watched as he took their meals and divided them evenly on the two plates, then handed hers back without a word. As he began to eat, she just looked at him. “Why did you do that?”

“The unsub thinks he’s higher than women right? He’s provided a nice bed, a hot meal, and a chair for me. Even let me keep my clothes. Those things have not been allotted to you. He’s trying to divide us. I can’t just let him do that.”

After a few seconds, Riley nodded and picked up the chicken. “I wonder why he hated women so much. There must have been some sort of stressor to make him that way.”

“His mother may have left him when he was young. It could have made him feel rejected and therefor he would want to do whatever possible to not be rejected by any woman again.” Reid was deep in thought at he chewed.

“Or he could have been taught to be that way.” Riley mused.

“Elaborate?” Reid questioned between bites.

“Think about it as more of a racial issue. Most people who are racist are like that because it’s what they’re raised with. It’s what they’ve always known.”

“If the unsubs father was like this toward his mother, then that would explain the way the unsub treats females now. He said he had followers that would love to learn his teachings like I am. Somewhere out there are men who follow him. Maybe he holds some sort of lectures somewhere? A rec center maybe?”

“It’s possible. Or he could do it online. Post videos and host chats. It would be a lot harder for his ‘pupils’ to be identified like that. If I was a murderer with a following, I would do it online and route my signal through every country from here to Beijing and back again. The unsub isn’t exactly stupid, he would surely take measures to not get caught.”

“Wish I could call Garcia right now.” Reid smirked, but Riley could see it in his eyes that he was upset. She reached over and squeezed his arm reassuringly.

“We can get through this Spencer. We just have to figure out how. When he comes back, just try to remember everything he says. What does he wear? How does he talk…we need to know it all.”

Reid glanced down at the plate, then up at the forgotten can of beer on the table. Riley could tell the wheels in his head were turning. She sat in silence as he spoke. “Disposable plates, plastic utensils, and a cool can of beer….not cold.” He stood and walked around the room, giving everything another look. He pressed his hand to a wall and muttered something to himself. Then he put his hand over an air vent, then over another. “We’re underground. It’s comfortable in here but the walls are cool to the touch. The vent on that side is pumping in heat, while the other had no airflow. It’s like it’s used just for ventilation.”

“So, we’re in a basement?” Riley took their plates up and placed them back on the table. She dusted her hands off on her gown and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I don’t think so. If we were in a basement, we could hear the unsubs moving overhead. But since we’ve been here I haven’t heard anything at all. Not to mention the cool beer. If we were that close to a refrigerator the can would still be cold but it’s not. With the age of these unsubs, they have probably lived in the same house for twenty plus years. It’s unlikely that with his career that he could afford a house with a basement that has these kinds of amenities when he first bought it. Besides, all of these things seem only a few years old. The bed and the chest of drawers hardly have a scratch.”

“Wait…if this was just a holding cell for their victims, then why have a chest of draws and a full bath in the first place? None of the victims were kidnapped with extra sets of clothing and the bodies were found frozen. The victims were probably only here for a week at the most before being killed and frozen.” Riley strode over to the bathroom and poked her head it. After she was satisfied, she looked back to Reid. “It’s very clean, but there’s no soap or shampoo. The unsubs never really intended their victims to use the shower.”

“It’s a storm cellar…”Reid touched a wall again.

“Why do you think that?”

“The window there is three inches thick and the door on this side, and the one in the adjoining room look to be solid steel. The ceiling is slightly arched and I would be willing to bet that behind the wallpaper and drywall is bricks or cinder blocks. It has all of the basic amenities, but it isn’t under the house. Chances are, there’s a generator and an air and heating unit behind this wall. If I’m right, then we must be somewhere in Tornado Alley.”

“How do you figure? Most states have tornados and plenty of people across the US have storm shelters. Why do you think we would be in the Alley?”

“While it’s true that most states have tornados and therefor many people like to have a storm shelter, the Midwest is where tornado sightings are common. We could be anywhere but I suspect that we are somewhere in the Alley because people there are more likely to have a shelter.”

“So…narrow it down for me a little bit? What states are in Tornado Alley?”

“Well, there isn’t really a specific area but statistically speaking the states with the most tornado sightings would be Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, and parts of Colorado and South Dakota. It doesn’t narrow it down much and frankly it doesn’t do us much good in here. If we could get that information to the team it might make a difference but…” Reid sighed and sat down on the bed. As he rubbed his eyes with his hands his mind flashed to a blurred image of a headstone. He could still smell the cooking fish innards.

“We may be able to do that.” Riley took a place beside him and waiting for him to look at her. “Let’s say that he does reach his followers by way of the internet. We could send a message somehow and hope the BAU gets it.”

“That’s how I escaped Tobias. I sent a message to Hotch…something I knew only he would understand. I guess it would work this time but I don’t even know if Garcia would know where to look. Not to mention that we are only assuming that he would have an online following.” There were too many variables that simply didn’t have good chances. 

“I’m trying to stay hopeful Reid.” Riley said flatly. She knew he was only telling her the truth but right now she needed to have a hope for something. 

“I’m sorry. Look Riley….” He took her hand, his eyes gazing deep into her own. “I will find a way out. I promise.” She squeezed his hand and nodded.

“I believe you.”


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine  
The Hunt  
Lynard Skynard

 

“There’s my sweetness.” Garcia placed her hand on Morgan’s shoulder. He was flipping Reid’s ID badge over and over between his fingers as he sat alone at the round table. “Are you ok?”

Morgan leaned back in his chair and placed his hand over Garcia’s. “I can’t believe this is happening again. Hotch says that Reid can pull through this just like last time. But last time we knew the name of the son of a bitch that took him and it helped find where he took Reid. We don’t even have a name this time.”

“We’ll find him Derek. I won’t stop looking until we do.” Garcia’s voice caught in her throat and Morgan knew she was on the verge of tears. “I have a system running now searching computer databases for men in the prison systems that have a history of domestic violence. We’ll find him.”

Morgan stood and put his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. “C’mon baby girl. I’ll help you out.” When she began to protest he put a finger on her lips. “Garcia, I can’t just sit in here doing nothing. I’ll stay out of your way. I just need something to do.”

“Alright Derek but if you touch anything I’ll have to break out my handcuffs. They are fuzzy and pink and you won’t like them.” She pointed to his nose in warning.

“I might.” Morgan smirked and scooted her off to her office. She always had a way of making him smile, even when he didn’t feel like it. Even now as she led the way to her computer haven, he felt his spirits lifting just a little. He pulled up a chair as she made herself comfortable, a list of possible unsubs covered one screen.

“Ok, the search is almost done but I have no idea where to start with narrowing it down.”

“Well, we talked about the unsub possibly being a truck driver. Start with taking everyone off the list that isn’t a trucker. This guy is meticulous and never leaves evidence, suggesting he’s older. Possibly between 30 and 50 years old.” Morgan began to convey every detail that the team had discussed to help eliminate suspects. Garcia’s list became smaller and smaller with a flurry of clicking key strokes. 

“Garcia, I need you to check the logs for every weigh in station within a 100 mile radius from where Reid and Palmer were taken.” Morgan and Garcia jumped when Hotch spoke. “Cross reference the names from the prison records with those logged in the weight in stations.”

“I’m on it.” Garcia quipped, opening a new search on a different computer. “I have ten names sir.” The tapping of the keyboard gave a quiet reassurance to the others in the room that they were finally getting somewhere. As long as the leads kept coming there was something they could do.

“Good. Now search the logs of every weight station in the US for those names.”

“That’ll take a little while sir.” Garcia said as she began to widen the search. Rossi joined them after a few minutes and he watched as what seemed to be an unending string of names traversing the screen. “Here. Five of those names were listed in the weigh stations of every city the victims went missing in, as well as where the bodies were found. And get this, 49 year Tucker Hill, was incarcerated five times in a ten year period for domestic disturbances. His wife, 46 year old Candace Hill never filed charges but the last time he was in jail for a year in North Dakota because the cops in the area overrode Candace’s decision and filed it anyway. He was released 8 months ago. Says here that he is an owner operator. That must be why his license isn’t listed with any companies.”

“Do you know the name of the warden of that prison?” Rossi asked.

“Booker. Warden Bryan D. Booker.”

“Get him on the phone and transfer it to line two in the round table room. Morgan, Rossi, come with me. Time is running out.” Hotch motioned his team to follow him across the platform. Once there they only had to wait a matter of minutes before line two rang. Hotch put the call on speaker just as J.J. entered the room, closing the door gently behind her. “Hello, Warden Booker?”

“Speaking.” A gruff voice answered. Morgan scoffed. The man sounded like a warden.

“This is FBI Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner of the BAU in Quantico Virginia. I would like to ask you a few questions about an inmate that was released from your facility about 8 months ago.” Hotch started, eying Morgan as a warning before shuffling around his notes.

“That’s one hell of a title son.” Booker said, his voice distinctly southern. “What’s the name of the inmate Agent Hotchner? Maybe I can help you out.”

“Tucker Hill. We understand that he was incarcerated due to a domestic disturbance. Do you remember any behavioral quirks that Mr. Hill may have exhibited?”

“Tucker Hill. Hell, that’s a name I hoped to never hear again. He was in my prison for a year and had a small following. Sick bastard. He would damn near preach on how women were lower than men. That they needed to be ‘put in their place’. Matter o’ fact, a few of the men were so disturbed by Tucker’s ‘teachings’ they complained to me about it. I had him locked in isolation for short periods while he was here, thinking it would get him to keep his mouth shut but nothing ever worked. I was glad to see him go. But I felt bad for that wife of his. Real small woman. Tucker was a big man. Wouldn’t have taken much for him to get her to do whatever he wanted her to do.”

“Do you happen to have a physical address for him?”

“No. He had a house here just outside of town but he used to talk about having several properties across the US. Something about his father leaving them for him in his will. Far as I know, he never told anyone where the other houses are but not long after he was released, he up and left town. Probably chose to go somewhere where the cops just don’t give a damn about what he does with his wife.” Booker said bitterly.

“What about a cell mate? If the man that bunked with Tucker is still in prison, we’ll need to talk to him”

“Nah, his cell mate was released 6 months ago. He was one of Tucker’s devoted few. His mother abused him when he was little and his mind was never right since. He was easy prey for Tucker. He was brilliant when it came to computers. Used to fix the ones in the library all the time.”

“Do you happen to have his name, address, and phone number?” Hotch grabbed a pen and prepared to write down the man’s information. He nodded along as he wrote, copied everything on a separate piece of paper, and then passed the paper off to J.J. and pointed to the door. Without a word she took it straight to Garcia. “Thank you for your time Warden Booker.”

“If you need anything else Agent Hotchner, you have my number.” The line disconnected. Rossi leaned across the table and dialed the number of Tucker’s ex-cell mate. After a few rings, they got an answer from a man that had obviously been sleeping.

“Hello?” The man yawned.

“Hi, is this Matthew Tyler?” 

“Yeah, who wants to know” Matthew answered defensively.

“Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner of the FBI. If you hang up I swear I’ll have an agent at your door in five minutes and if you run, we will find you.” Morgan’s brow lifted in amusement as Hotch threatened Matthew. Dark eyes found Rossi with a faint grin on his face. “I need to ask you some questions about your ex-cell mate, Tucker Hill.”

The line was silent for a moment, and then Matthew spoke. “Shoot.” He resigned.

“When was the last time you had any contact, personal or otherwise, with Mr. Hill?”

“Last time I saw him was when he was let out. Haven’t seen him in person since then but he did send me a letter about a month ago with an email address on it. Never emailed him though.”

“Warden Booker says you were one of Tucker’s followers. That you believed his teachings that women are inferior to men.”

“Yeah well, I was angry back then. Been in therapy since I got out. Part of my parole and all. Go to two group meetings a week and everything I swear. Looking back, Tucker was bat shit crazy.”

 

“Do you still have the email address he sent you?”

“Uh, yeah just give me a sec.” The three men listened as Matthew shuffled through papers and drawers until finally he came back to the phone. “Here it is. The address is NeTornado65@mansworld.net. What’s this about anyway?”

“It’s confidential. Thank you for your time Mr. Tyler.” Hotch disconnected the call and the agents abandoned the round table in favor of Garcia’s office. 

“What did you find on Matthew Tyler?” Rossi asked, making room for Hotch and Morgan.

“Matthew Tyler, 32 years old, his mother died last year and he inherited her house. Since he’s been out of prison he has been attending a local group meeting hosted by a church five miles from his house. Works as a computer tech at a small end electronics store.” Garcia said as she turned to face them.

“Looks like he was telling the truth.” Rossi said to Hotch.

“Garcia, I want you to find this email address and flag anything suspicious that it’s attached to. Chat sites, videos, blogs, social networking, everything. Get back to me with a list as soon as possible.” Hotch handed the paper with the email address to Garcia.

“NeTornado….”Rossi mused, his eyes looking at something far off in the distance. “Ne is an abbreviation for Nebraska. And it is in Tornado Alley. Tornados are a destructive force that levels everything in its path. Tucker could see it as something masculine. He could be holding them somewhere in Nebraska.” 

The typing stopped and Garcia said something under her breath. The team didn’t have to see her to know her eyes were wide in shock and her mouth had gone slack to the images on her computer screen. J.J. covered her mouth in discomfort as the men shifted closer to get a better look.

A video clip of a man beating a woman. Another man could be heard in the background yelling orders. He couldn’t be seen but it was easy to tell he was the one who was really in charge. The man in the video didn’t want to be beating the woman, as he protested several times. Garcia closed her eyes and turned away, Morgan scooted closer to her out of instinct. 

“They’re in some sort of room. But I don’t see any windows. It is in a basement or something?” J.J. stated, no longer able to just stay quiet while the video was playing.

“It’s possible. Garcia, where did this video come from?” Hotch wanted to find the location as soon as possible. Trying to stay calm while members of his team were in trouble was something he could never get used to. Palmer wasn’t technically one of his own, but as far as he was concerned, she was in his care.

“It was a link in a private chat site.” Garcia happily stopped the video and went back to the chat she had found it in. “It looks like the same people are invited to join at the same time every week. Friday evening, 5:30 pm. The videos that are posted correspond to the days that this guy had victims.”

“That means he’ll be posting a video tomorrow night of Reid and Palmer.” Rossi didn’t like the time frame, but at least now they knew who they were looking for. They just had to find out where he had taken Palmer and Reid before it was too late. “Can you track the email address to find out where that video was uploaded from?”

“There are a number of physical addresses here. This guy knows what he’s doing with a computer.” Garcia shook her head, dangling earrings swaying and jingling as she did.

“Matthew Tyler must have taught him how while they were fixing computers in prison.” Morgan said, looking to Hotch to confirm the assumption. Hotch nodded, eyes searching the screens and thinking.

“It wouldn’t do any good for us to call him back and find out. He said he hasn’t had contact with Tucker and I believe him. Keep an eye out on that site Garcia and report anything that looks suspicious. Print out those physical addresses and get J.J. to bring it to me in the round table room in five minutes. Rossi, could you get the phone numbers to all of the police stations that the victims were missing, and found from? Morgan, call the morgues and re-confirm the cause of death for all of the women who were mutilated. We don’t have much time and I don’t want to have to wait until the next video is posted to see where Palmer and Reid are.”

The team scattered to do their assignments, all with the apprehension that the next time they saw their team members; it would be a brutal sight that they wouldn’t be able to stomach. There were only two options. Reid would have to harm Palmer, or he would refuse. The team was ready for him to refuse and they feared that if he did so, they would be killed before the BAU could find them. 

Many phone calls later, Hotch was getting tired of repeating his title. Morgan was rearranging the victims’ photographs on the bulletin board while Rossi was pinning the locations of the bodies and missing person’s reports to a map of the United States. So far they hadn’t uncovered anything new from the police departments and the physical addresses had all come up as 

“Rossi, what do we have there?” Hotch asked, watching Rossi string the pins with colored cords.

“Sam and Cathy Cooper, the first victims, were taken from upstate New York. Corinth White was taken from the next town over, and Tammy Smith from a truck stop two weeks later in Iowa. No family so no one to miss her.” He pointed to the red string that spanned the map. “The second set of victims were taken within ten miles of the dump site and an unrelated woman was also taken Kansas. The same goes for the rest of the victims. There doesn’t seem to be a set time period in which the victims are kept and there doesn’t seem to be any preference. Age, race, occupation, physical appearance….” Rossi stared at the map and thought. “It’s almost like it’s opportunistic.”

“What about their careers?” Morgan asked, marker in hand and ready to write everything down. He had to do something other than sit at the damn table.

“A lawyer, an aspiring actor, a writer, a small time musician, and a blue collar worker. All taken from places you would expect to find them. Lawyer in New York, musician in Nashville, actor in California. Based on the way he crisscrosses the nation and the times of the deaths we can assume that he is stationed somewhere in the Midwest.” Rossi spoke to Morgan, watching as the younger man transcribed everything he said.

“It does help to confirm our theory of him being in Nebraska. But what do the jobs of the victims have to do with it? Is it possible that it’s just a coincidence?”

“I don’t think so Morgan.” Rossi shook his head and took a step back from the map to get a better look. “In those areas the likelihood of you finding someone of those professions is high but five for five? Not likely. He may have seen them leave their respective offices or recording studios….even a theatre holding auditions. As far as the connection…I’m not sure. It’s clear that they don’t want anyone who is too successful, maybe because the big shots are the people you would notice missing sooner. But none of these careers are low paying either. No minimum wage jobs. Could be that they think different job types require different types of people. Question is, what type of man would abuse a woman? Doesn’t really have anything to do with a job but Mr. Hill seems to see a connection. It appears that this is some sort of experiment. Being as he’s a truck driver he won’t have too much time between drop offs and pick-ups. His wife is probably the one scouting out the area for what he wants while he is working.” 

“That’s how they got Reid and Palmer. Candace was small and unassuming. They wouldn’t have gone if it was a man, but she is small enough to fool damn near anyone.” Morgan said bitterly. He still blamed himself but he was trying to look at the truth of it and not just his guilt. “But she wouldn’t be able to take them by herself. This guy has to be lying in wait somewhere. She could be going to their doors and asking for help and luring them out of their homes. Or asking people at gas stations like with Reid and Palmer.” He ran his hand across his head as he sat down to rethink the last time he saw Palmer and Reid. “The thing is, we just got in town. There’s no way that they would have known Reid and Palmer are federal agents and if they are taking people of certain occupations, for whatever reason, they wouldn’t have been able to figure it out just by looking at them. If this guy is getting his wife to scope out their victims before the abductions that this would be breaking away from what they usually do. Maybe we were wrong about them stalking victims.”

“Not necessarily….”Hotch tapped on the table and his dark eyes met Morgan’s. “Tell me everything you remember about that day at the gas station. Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”

Morgan sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring though the table into his memory. “We all got out of the van. You, Rossi, and J.J. were ahead of us, and Reid and Palmer were behind me. Then a woman spoke behind them and the three of us turned around. Then she asked for help with a flat tire….” Morgan’s voice trailed off as his brow furrowed. “Wait. When we turned to look at her, she was trying to look around us. Like we weren’t the ones she was trying to talk to. There was another couple that walked in front of us. Palmer almost ran into the lady.”

“Candace botched the job. She was after that other couple but after engaging you three, it would have looked suspicious for her to break away and ask for help from someone else.” Rossi placed his hands on the table, they were finally onto something.

“Taking Reid and Palmer turned from stalking, to opportunity. They were never the targets to begin with. If Tucker has been abusing her for years, then bringing back the wrong couple could have been very bad for her.” Morgan looked to Hotch to put these thoughts together. “Coming back empty handed when they have a strict time frame could be just as bad as getting the wrong people.”

“Well, if they are taking people based on their careers for an experiment as we think, Tucker will have to figure out what Palmer and Reid do for a living. He may try to ask them outright, seeing as most people won’t have a reason to lie about it. Or he may take more drastic measures to get it out of them. Reid is resourceful, he’s probably already figured out where they are by now and is figuring out how to escape.”

“Don’t forget Palmer. This may have been her first field assignment but she’s smart. Her superiors chose her to assist us rather than their own team. I’m sure she will be good with helping Reid make a plan.” Rossi was putting a lot on the girl, but it made him feel better to say that Reid was not alone. The young man had a good chance of escaping if he was alone, and even better chances with someone like Palmer. Her superiors in New York had told him that she was a tough girl, willing to do most anything to get a case closed. He had to believe that she would do that now too, even under pressure.

“I think I may have found something sir.”

The three men turned to look at Garcia peeking through the door. As they rose, she scampered off to her office. When they got there she has already sitting down again, pointing at a screen overhead. A picture of Tucker was there next to that of another man as well as what seemed to be a death record and a whole list of prison records.

“You see that guy up there? That’s Tucker Hill’s father, Samuel. He died two years ago and he had the same domestic violence issues young Mr. Hill has. Arrested several times and even did a year and a half at the same prison where his son was incarcerated in North Dakota.”

“Warden Booker told us that Tucker mentioned that he had several properties that were left to him when his father died. Can you find a record of any of those properties?” Hotch placed his hands on his hips as he studied the criminal record on the screen above Garcia’s main monitor. After a moment, four addresses popped up on the screen. 

“Ok he has one in Louisiana, two in Arkansas, and one in Kansas.”

“None in Nebraska.” Hotch shook his head. It didn’t seem like they were getting anywhere. “Alright team, go home and get some rest. It doesn’t look like there’s anything else we can do here. We’ll regroup in six hours to get a fresh look at this.”

“I’m not leavin’. Not until I know where this bastard is. Let me know when you get something.” Morgan stood and made his way to the door. They all knew he was going to crash on the couch in the conference room. Hotch knew his team all felt the same way so he just let Morgan go. He and Rossi would retire to their offices and Garcia would no doubt sleep at her desk if she really wanted to. Hotch just didn’t like that they were stuck, waiting on a clue. At this point, the waiting game was just beginning.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten  
In All My Dreams I Drown  
Devil’s Carnival

 

This time Reid and Riley were able to watch as Candace and Tucker dragged in the next woman, still drugged, and straps her to the chair. The brighter lights turned on again and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust but right before the lights, Reid caught a glimpse of stairs through the door as it closed. Good, now he was sure they were in a storm shelter. 

“Alright, let’s try this again.” Tucker rolled his sleeves up as he had done the last time. Candace stood stony faced with a gun to the other woman’s head. This lady was Asian, very pretty, and young. Maybe in her early twenties and from what he could guess, this woman was homeless. Her face was dirty and her clothes were torn and a little too small for her. Riley wondered if the girl was a runaway. Reid swallowed hard with the knowledge that her life was in his hands. It didn’t matter that she may not have a family, she was still a human and he didn’t want another innocent person to die because he couldn’t do what he needed to do to save them. “Put your hands on the wall.”

“The wall?” Reid questioned, not sure if he had faded out of reality and missed the first part of that sentence. 

“I said, put your hands on the wall. Both of you, get over there now. Face the wall and put your hands where I can see them. One move and the woman dies.” Tucker was already sounding like his patience was waning. Riley looked to Reid for confirmation and he gave her a faint nod. The pair stepped to the far side of the room and placed their hands on the wall. Reid kept the eye contact of his female companion, knowing she was growing more and more uneasy as the moments passed. His own stomach was in knots now but he resisted grabbing her hand.

They could hear the door open and Riley jumped when it slammed closed. Tucker was getting closed and Reid swallowed hard as he thought of the words to say. “I’m ready to learn now. But this woman…she isn’t who I want.” Reid said, licking his lips after he spoke. Tucker stopped and when Reid was convinced that the unsub was listening, he continued. “There… there’s another woman I would rather have. I’ve been seeing her behind Riley’s back for a while now. Get her and let Riley go and I’ll learn everything you can teach me about how to put her in her place.”

Before Reid could get any further Tucker grabbed him by the back of his shirt and flung him to the floor. It knocked the breath out of Reid and he drew in a ragged breath as Tucker came to loom over him. “Dammit boy. You just don’t get it. All women are yours to take. If you want one, take her. I don’t give a shit if you’ve been seein’ some other woman behind that tramps back.” He pointed a thick finger at Riley who had backed up to the side of the dresser. “You say you wanna learn to put them in their place? Well I’m about to teach you by example. A meaty hand grabbed a handful of Reid’s hair and pulled him up on his knees. The other fist made contact to the left side of Reid’s face and stars lit up his vision.   
The blurry figure of Riley jumped on the bed and then down on the other side. She was distancing herself. Reid just kept telling himself he could handle it, hoping the beating would stall everything enough that Reid would have time to learn more about their captors and hopefully get an idea of how to escape.

The blows just kept coming, one after the other, and all Reid could do was cover his face and take it. A kick to the head almost blacked him out but he held on. Through the smashing sounds of Tucker’s hands hitting him, Reid could swear that he heard Riley yelling and then everything stopped with the sound of shattering glass. A few pieces hit the floor by Reid’s head, he could hear them skittering across the floor. 

When Reid looked up, Tucker’s face was red with rage and Riley was standing on the bed, brandishing what was left of the shattered lamp from the bedside table. Reid’s eyes went wide in shock as Riley’s words broke through the fog.

“Leave him alone!” She yelled as Tucker faced her. She was shaking with fear but still she stayed defiant, staring Tucker in the eye but before she could react, his hand swung hard and with a nasty backhand, Riley fell to the floor. Tucker snatched the lamp off the floor and with one move he ripped the cord out and hit Riley with it a couple of times before he left her whimpering on the floor. Reid backed away instinctively as Tucker approached. The larger man leaned over and grabbed a handful of Reid’s shirt and pulled him up close. 

“Women are not our equals boy. They were put on this earth to serve us, just like dogs serve their master, and cows provide food.” He snarled in Reid’s face, shaking him a little as he spoke. “You will train this one. You’ll teach that little bitch to serve you and respect all men she comes in contact with.” He pushed Reid as he released him and walked back over to Riley. “You will obey him, you will obey me.” He kicked her over onto her back so she could look at him. “Come here boy.”

Reid stood shakily, pain shot through him from his fresh bruises. Bracing himself on a wall for a moment, he knew what he was about to have to do. A voice in his head told him that nothing he could do to Riley would be as bad as what Tucker was doing, but still he couldn’t rationalize it in his mind. He felt sick with himself. He swallowed the lump in his throat as Tucker pointed to Riley. “Hit her.”

“I don’t think I’m ready. Why don’t…why don’t you show me again.” In a flash he was back in front of that computer screen with a paper in his hand; ‘Me for her’. In essence that was what he wanted. Anything to not have to hit Riley. It simply wasn’t in him. His eyes were locked with Tuckers but he could see Riley shaking her head in protest. She had lashed out and attacked this man twice her size to protect Reid and Reid felt he couldn’t do anything but just stand there. 

“You aren’t stupid boy. I already showed you and you damn well know I taught you well enough. Get over here and hit her or I’ll do it myself.” Tucker growled. His patience was wearing thin. Reid came to a terrifying realization that he had no more options. Tucker wouldn’t be persuaded to let Riley go and he certainly wasn’t stupid enough to beat Reid again. He knew the younger man was just stalling. 

Tucker stepped back away from Reid as he approached Riley. For a moment Reid considered going after Tucker in that instant but he knew that he and Riley couldn’t take down the larger man with brute force. With a thud his knees hit the floor beside Riley. His heart was beating loudly in his ears and his throat stung but he couldn’t allow himself to cry. 

“Do it Reid, it’s ok.” Riley whispered, barely loud enough for Reid to hear. Shaking hands covered her face as he raised his hand. He was trembling as he had been the first time he raised a hand to her. It was like sitting on the rail of a bridge, looking down and knowing that you have to let go. That first step was always the hardest and in this case, Reid felt it might be impossible. “Do it.” She said again and Reid swung down, eyes closed tight. He felt the contact but it almost didn’t seem real. After a few more trembling blows, Tucker knew that Reid was taking it easy on Riley. 

In a fit of rage, the large man grabbed Reid by the back of his collar and pulled him away. Reid was flung back onto the hardwood floor and before he could react, the heel of Tucker’s boot made contact with Riley’s ribcage. The sound she emitted was one that Reid had never heard come from a human before and one that he hoped he would never hear it again. 

“Stop. Stop!” He protested, hands out in a pleading gesture. Tucker stopped and turned to Reid. “She’s mine right? Then I should be the one to do it.” He would never hurt her like Tucker was. She would be lucky if her ribs were still intact after that last blow and he knew that if he did it himself, he would be keeping her safe. Maybe it was his brain finally breaking down but he could have sworn that she looked relieved that it would be him instead of the unsub. Whether she was relieved or not, he still couldn’t watch. Eyes shut tight he hit her, over and over until he heard Tucker speak.

“We’re getting somewhere. Good job boy. There might be some promise for you yet.” Then the door slammed shut. As soon as the overhead light went out and they were plunged back into the dim light of the remaining bedside lamp, Reid’s hand fell to the floor beside Riley’s head. He leaned over her, on the verge of sobbing, his breathing vast and irregular. He could hear as the woman on the other side of the glass was taken away, drugged but still very much alive. Where were they keeping her? Reid wasn’t sure but it was not his first priority right now. 

With some difficulty, the young FBI agent helped his battered friend to the bed. She took a few deep breaths as he sat down beside her. Her skin had grown pale and her forehead was dotted with sweat. “I’m so sorry Riley. I …I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s ok Spencer. You weren’t as bad as him. I think he cracked my rib.” Her hand pressed to her side as she spoke in ragged gasps. After a few moments of silence she had calmed down and her color was coming back. As well as a dark purple bruise over her left eye. Thin trails of blood dotted the side of her gown and Reid was sure that it was worse on her back. The cord from the lamp had obviously done its part and it made Reid sick. “Are you ok?” She whispered, blue eyes searching his face.

“Why did you do that?” He asked, brow furrowed. “Why did you attack him like that?”

“He was hurting you. I don’t know I just reacted.” She shrugged, sitting up and propping against the pillows. Everything hurt, from her face to her feet, everything felt as if it was bruised.

“You helped me and I…”Reid covered his face with his hand and shook his head. She risked it to help him and he hurt her in return.

“Stop it Spencer.” He felt her warm fingers pull his hand away from his face so he would look at her. “You saved that woman. I know they won’t release her but she is still alive and that is what matters. Besides…that guy doesn’t hold back. You know that. I would rather it be you than him.” 

They sat in silence for a moment when Riley brushed her knuckles across Reid’s cheek. He flinched a little but he refused to look at her. “He got you worse than I thought. You’re bleeding.” She ripped the hem from her gown and dabbed his cheek with it. “Thank you Spencer.”

“Thank you? I hit you Palmer. There’s nothing to be thankful for.” 

For the first time during this whole ordeal, he called her by her last name. Her hand stopped moving, her eyes boring into him. This was what the unsub wanted. To make Reid distance himself from Riley and she just couldn’t let that happen.

“Don’t do that Spencer. Don’t distance yourself from me. He wants to separate us. I don’t want to go through this alone and if you allow him to put a wedge between us, you’ll be my enemy. I don’t want you to be my enemy.” He still wasn’t really responding so she tried something else. “Why don’t we think about what else we’ve learned from them?”

“I don’t know. I had my eyes closed.” Reid rubbed his eyes and tried to remember anything he could. “The woman…she was homeless I think. She was dirty and her clothes didn’t fit right.”

“So he may not have gone far to get her. Maybe a nearby city?”

Reid shook his head a little as he thought. “I don’t think so. The unsub would want to keep us isolated and chances are, they would have to get a permit to have an underground bunker in their back yard. Most cities won’t allow that so I’m sure we’re outside city limits.” 

“A smaller town would notice if anyone went missing, even a homeless person. So what other options do they have? If we aren’t inside city limits, and a small town would be too suspicious, where else could they go for a homeless person?”

“What if they took her from the side of the road? If we are out in the middle of nowhere, it would be really easy to pick up a hitch hiker. And there are plenty of prostitutes that stay around truck stops, he could be taking them and the victims would be almost impossible to track. No one to notice they are even missing. I think I know where we are. Or, pretty close anyway.”

“Really? Well don’t keep it to yourself, share with the class.” She jibed as she readjusted on the bed. Her ribs hurt like hell but Riley did her best to keep it in. She really didn’t want Reid to feel any worse about the situation than he already did. 

“When the initial victims were taken, an unrelated woman was usually taken from her home. The unsubs have to be stalking these people so some degree or they would have been caught by now. They know what their victims do and where they go and are taking them from places close to their homes. The victims comfort zones. But the extra women have all gone missing from around the same area. They’ve all been within a 1200 mile diameter with the center being about….”His fingers tapped the air and his eyes darted around at an invisible map as his lips mouthed the names of the places the other women were taken from. “Somewhere in Nebraska. Possibly the north eastern section? I didn’t make the connection before because it’s such a wide range and covers multiple states.”

“That would explain a lot. We’re almost literally in the middle of nowhere. Far enough away from cities to be able to have an underground bunker, close enough to truck stops to have a good supply of hitch hikers and prostitutes, and in a central part of the US that would allow for a wide kidnapping range. I just hope the rest of the team can figure that out before…” Her words trailed off into territory she just didn’t want to explore.

“We’re going to get out of this ok?” Reid took her hand and squeezed it. Deep down he wasn’t sure himself if they could get out. It was locked down tight and the unsubs took great measures to ensure they were careful about where their victims were when they entered or exited the bunker. If only he had some way to contact the team their chances would be better. 

“Yeah….” She didn’t seem convinced.

“Riley, I know you don’t really know me very well, but please trust me.” He forced her to meet his gaze and after a moment, she nodded. There may have been a part of her that still doubted him, but at least she was making an effort to trust him. 

The sudden clanking of the food slot door startled them both. Once it closed, they could hear faint footsteps ascending the stairs, then silence. If the door wasn’t so thick, they could probably tell about how far underground they were. Not that Reid thought it would do much good. Digging out was an option he had crossed off the list for various reasons. 

Reid and Riley didn’t realize they were holding their breaths until they both exhaled sharply. Their shoulders drooped as they shared a look of relief. Reid rose to examine the meal. Soup, salad, and meatloaf for him, same turkey sandwich, crackers, and water for her. He began to divide up the food when Riley stopped him. 

“Wait.” Riley struggled to get out of bed but once she was on her feet she had to stop and catch her breath. Once most of the pain subsided, she slowly made her way to Reid. His eyes were so sad, pleading for her to stay in bed but Riley ignored the look. “Meatloaf, soup, salad….it must be lunch.” 

Reid’s face morphed from worried to perplexed. He simply didn’t catch on to where Riley was going with her statement. So she continued.

“Our first meal after our abduction was steak and potatoes. Second was eggs and bacon. I really don’t know how I didn’t see it before. This gives us a rough idea as to what the time and day it is.”

It all came together for Reid. “If we’re in Nebraska, like I think we are…” he tapped the air with his fingers, calculating in his head. “It took approximately fourteen hours to get here from the abduction point. Three pm…fourteen hours…figure in the time change…we arrived here at six am. If our first meal was dinner, then something happened. The unsub said, ‘we start in the morning’. That could mean any time before noon, but we didn’t wake up until before dinner.”

“You mean, they kept us drugged all say? Why keep us sedated that long?”

“I don’t know.” Reid shrugged. “Maybe they were trying to decide whether to keep us or not.”

“If we knew why the unsubs chose those specific victims, it would be easier to figure out. But nothing seemed to match up. Age, gender, race…”Riley took a seat to think, careful of her ribs.

“What about jobs?” Reid pondered. “They all lived too far apart for there to be any personal connections between them. But maybe there’s something in their careers that link them.”

“Not that I can think of. They were all pretty diverse. A musician, a lawyer, a writer…” Riley sighed as she tried to recall the case files she had spent so long preparing. Still, nothing seemed to click.

“Those are pretty interesting occupations. Not just everyday jobs. They produce all types of people. The unsub wants to find someone who he can train to be like him. It seems like he wants his message to be taught all over the world. He seems to want every last man to believe like he believes. Going back to our suspicions of an internet following, I remember seeing something in the case file of the first victims about a video online but it was very vague.”

“Yeah, there was a video livestreamed online of the first couple online the first Friday after they were abducted but the link was closed before anyone could track it. No one in my department had the skills that were required to prove it ever existed so I had to write it as speculated evidence. No other video ever surfaced but we assumed the unsub made one for every couple he kidnapped.”

“Today is Thursday.” Reid felt sick as his eyes met Riley’s. “We can assume he has hosted a livestream for each couple…”

“We’ll be next.”

“It’s ok.” Reid knelt beside her and took her hand gently. When she looked at him, he would hold her gaze as he spoke, thinking in the back of her head about how beautiful her eyes were. “Garcia is the best. She read the files, I’m sure she’s already found the source of the video by now. We’ll just have to wait it out and hope they made the same connections we did. Assuming they don’t get here before the video is aired, we’ll have to think about what we’ll say, or more, what I’ll say to tip them off on our location. That’s how they found me when I was abducted by Tobias. I can do it this time too.”

“I hope so. I just hope that you can figure out a way to get our location across to the others. Guess it wouldn’t do much good to hope they get here before the video airs would it?” Riley tried to force a smile but she simply couldn’t keep it up.

“We’re going to get out of here, I promise.” Reid divided up the food and handed her a plate. For the longest time she just stared at it. “Eat. We’ll both need our strength tonight if the others haven’t found us by then. “Reid knew that their time was winding down quickly. They had only about thirty hours before the unsub would livestream them as he had done the other before them. Reid really didn’t want his team to see him hit Riley. He hated that he had to hurt her, but it also hurt him to think of how his team would look at him once he and Riley were rescued. If they were ever rescued. Reid promised Riley that they would get out of here but he wasn’t even sure himself that they would survive. He wasn’t sure she believed him, but he had to give her hope or she might give up.

“You said that he might be taking people of certain occupations right? I hate to shoot that idea down but the unsub doesn’t know what we do. Actually, I don’t recall him ever asking you what you do for a living.” Riley took a tentative bite of her half of the sandwich. 

“Hm. You’re right. He never asked and we both know we didn’t have our credentials on us. Just my gun and cell phone but it didn’t have any personal information on it. Nothing he could look at and know what I do.”

The pair ate in silence and the quiet remained for a while after. Riley shook her head. Neither of them could make a definite connection but one thing was for sure, if the unsub knew they were FBI he may have disposed of them sooner. But what was the connection? I really can’t think of any reason they would have chosen us.” Riley said, and then paused. “It had been speculated that the unsubs were watching their victims before abducting them. Nothing was ever confirmed though since the victims were never taken from their homes. If the unsubs do have specific people they are after and the connection lies in their jobs, maybe they took us by mistake? We weren’t in town long enough for them to have stalked us. It all seems too random.”

Reid thought, turning the idea over in his head. Many of the specifics for victims didn’t match. They had already ruled out age, race, gender, and personal connection but the potential for a job connection was not something he was willing to cross off his list until he was sure.

“Why don’t we try a cognitive interview?” Reid suggested. “I know what I remember from when we were taken, but maybe there was something you saw or heard that I didn’t. Are you feeling up to that?” He knew that she was in pain and he didn’t want to do anything that would cause her more discomfort or stress. When she nodded he turned to face her, placing one knee on the bed, his shin pressed against her crossed legs. “Okay, we’re going to start in the van, right before we got out at the gas station. We’ll end at what you remember when you woke up in this room.” The part where they were in transit was the part he was worried about making her recall. Her panic was so intense before that she could panic again and end up hurting herself. “I want you to take my hand and try to stay calm while you answer my questions ok? I’m right here.”

With a deep breath, Riley took Reid’s hand, taking a mental note of its warmth, just like when she first met him and shook his hand. It was only yesterday but it felt like a lifetime ago. 

“Alright, close your eyes and relax.” He placed his other hand around hers, hoping it would soothe her, while also bringing him a strange sense of peace. He licked his lips, only just realizing how dry they were. “We’re in the van. What do you hear? What do you smell?”

“I hear…everyone talking. Beyond that there’s the clanking of metal on glass. Morgan isn’t wearing his seatbelt. I can hear cars passing by. I smell after shave and cologne…and the scented tree handing from the mirror. It’s actually sort of strong. But Rossi had his window down so that helped. I could feel the wind a little.”

“Good. You’re doing great. Now, the vehicle stops. What do you see now?” Reid calmly directed her to the next scene, keeping his voice soft and focused. 

“Hotch, Rossi, and J.J. went ahead of us. You, Morgan, and I stepped out to stretch. Morgan was slightly ahead of us and we were talking about Doctor Who. The gas station was busy and sort of loud. I almost bumped into a woman when she and a man walked out in front of us. That’s when the female unsub got our attention.” Her brow furrowed with confusion as she remembered the encounter. “She looked past us.”

“What?” Now Reid was confused too. He hadn’t been looking at the woman as he turned. He had looked at Riley. Morgan and Riley heard the woman and turned first so Reid must have missed what Riley was remembering.

“Yeah, she spoke when we turned around and tried to look around us. Then she put her attention on us and asked for our help. What if she was trying to speak to the couple I almost bumped into? They were directly in front of us.” Riley opened her eyes but Reid slipped his hand over her face to close them again.

“We’ll go over that in a minute. Right now I need you to focus. What happened next?”

Riley reluctantly closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to focus her mind again. The memory faded back in from the darkness.

“She said she had a flat tire and we went to help her. I can hear gravel crunching under our feet, but none of us said much. We walked up to the truck….you went around back and when I leaned over the seat, the woman jumped on me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She shoved a rag in my face and I kept telling myself not to breathe in but I couldn’t help it. I was wondering where you were, why you weren’t helping me. Then I realized something was happening to you and….” Riley shook her head, the memory taking her back to the rush and confusion, Reid’s hand tightened around hers. “Everything went black.”

“You woke up on the way. Do you remember?” This was the part of Reid had been bracing himself for?

“Everything was dark. When I first came to, I couldn’t move and I panicked. My arms are trapped. There’s something heavy on my and it’s so hot. I smell oil and gasoline. My heart was beating so fast. I couldn’t see you or hear you and I was calling for you but you didn’t answer.” Tears streaked her face as her hand gripped his tightly. “I was being too loud. The woman pulled the truck over and I think the man must have pulled up behind us in the semi because I remember seeing a bright light through a crack near my feet, then it was gone. I can’t tell if I’m hearing the diesel engine or if it’s the ringing in my ears. I can hear him. He’s walking up to the truck and I heard him say something to the woman.” 

“What did he say?” Reid licked his lips again, listening intently. 

“He…he wants to kill me. Reid, he’s coming.” Her hands were shaking in Reid’s grip.

“It’s ok, I’m here Riley. It’s not real, it’s just a memory. Just relax and try to remember what he said.” He made an attempt at calming her down. A moment passed in silence as she composed herself.

“I’m being too loud. Candace…I think that’s what he said….the woman. Candace made a mistake. That’s what he said. They walked to the cab of the truck and then I couldn’t hear what they were saying anymore. The heat, the hallucinations, the feeling of being restrained…I started thrashing around, trying to get free when I felt your hand and heard your voice. They sedated us again didn’t then? They must have. I felt a needle in my arm before everything faded out again. That’s all I can remember before I woke up in here.” Riley didn’t want to tell him exactly how much she felt like she needed his voice or his touch in that moment. Anything to not feel so alone in her panic. Her azure eyes opened but she didn’t want to look at him just yet, maybe she was embarrassed at needing him. Maybe she just didn’t want him to see through her. 

They sat in silence, piecing together the puzzle when Reid realized her was not only holding her hand, but stroking her knuckles unconsciously as he thought. The palm of his hand still tingled with her warmth but instead of facing her, facing the feeling, he started to pace, recalling his observations.

“They made a mistake. The couple that walked out in front of us was who they were after, but when we turned around she had to think fast and decided to take us instead. Then again, I don’t think it would have mattered much to her if Morgan would have come instead of me. If you had been with Morgan, this whole thing probably would have been avoided.”

“I’m glad it was you.” Riley chuckled and shrugged, her smile quickly turning to embarrassment when he glanced at her. “I mean….Morgan is ok but I just…I don’t really have much in common with him and if I was going to be locked away for hours on end in need of a conversation, I don’t think Morgan would be the one I’d want to try to chat it up. Besides, I like uh…” Her voice tapered off as she looked at him, losing any courage she may have just had and rerouted it to energy to pick at her fingernails. Luckily for her he didn’t seem to have caught on to what she had said. Sometimes he was so clueless it was sort of entertaining.

When he couldn’t make sense of it he began to pace again. Riley readjusted herself on the pillows. She watched Reid from her peripheral vision as he paced across the floor, biting his thumbnail as he did. His external peril was obvious, but paled in comparison to the storm that raged in his mind.

Internally he was wrestling with himself. On the one hand, Reid hated hitting Riley and wasn’t sure he could make himself do it again. Knowing he may have to do it again only made it worse. On the other hand, he saw how hard the unsub laid into Riley and Reid knew he would never hit her nearly that hard. He had to pick the lesser of two evils while trying to keep himself together for Riley’s sake. This was simply too much for him to handle all at once.

Frankly, he was doing a terrible job at keeping Riley calm. His pacing was making her nervous and she wished they had something to talk about. The situation was far too stressful to even think about light conversation. Still, she had to do something so stop his infernal pacing. She just couldn’t handle it anymore.

“You’re still a good person Reid.” Sure, it was a stab in the dark but if she was in his shoes she would be seriously questioning herself right now. 

Reid stopped and looked at her. The surprise on his face said it all, but he didn’t open his mouth to speak. Who was the profiler now?

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I don’t envy you. I would hate to be in your shoes right now, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, I don’t hold anything against you. Come over here and quit pacing. You’re making me nervous.” Riley carefully pulled her legs away from the end of the bed and waiting for him to sit. “You’re so sweet, I don’t know why I was so intimidated by you before.”

“Why would you be intimidated?”

“I know that profilers really can’t really read minds, but there’s something about profilers that make me uneasy. Not a lot of people know me personally and coming into a room with a profiler for the first time was a little nerve-wracking. I was trying so hard to be calm and you say right through me anyway. I would hate to know how much you know about me just from the short time we’ve known each other.”

“We really try not to profile each other or people that we work with from outside sources, but I admit that sometimes we do it unconsciously. I’ve come to some conclusions about you, but none of it’s bad. If anything it’s helped me figure out how to handle the situation and even….that I wouldn’t mind at all if we keep in touch after this whole ordeal is over.”

Riley watched him intently as he spoke; paying close attention to how his mouth moved and how his eyes shifted as he spoke. So much like a man, and yet, so much like a boy. He really was attractive in his own way and she wished she could get inside his mind like he could do to hers. 

“I wish I could do what you do.” Riley’s face for red when she realized that what she thought had blurted out of her mouth. But it was true. She did wish she could do what he did. Have the skills he had. It seemed he could look at her and know what she was thinking if he wanted to. 

“Why?” There was that confused look again. Riley just smirked. It was a cute look. In a weird way she liked confusing him. For someone so smart his train sure did derail a lot. 

“I don’t know, I just…urg, it’s too embarrassing.” She laughed a sighed, eyeing him closely before she chose to finish her sentence. “Ok we may not get out of here so I’ll just say it. Don’t laugh but I just wish I knew you better. Could know you better. There’s just something about you that I can’t quite put my finger on.”

Reid looked away, his eyes searching the floor as if the words to say would materialize from the wood grain. Riley’s stomach dropped. “That was really weird of me to say, I’m sorry Reid.” Damn, she felt so embarrassed now. She was starting to care about him and he probably didn’t think he could ever see her as anything more than a friend.

“Spencer.” He answered. It was her turn to be confused.

“What?” Riley met his gaze again. 

“Call me Spencer.” He grinned at her and she couldn’t help to smile back. 

“Alright…Spencer. Well, since that was embarrassing enough, how about you help me to the shower? I don’t have soap and shampoo but if I die here today I want to die clean.” Her voice was laced with sarcasm but it still made Reid a little uneasy. He really didn’t want to think about her dying. Images of Maeve flashed in his head. Images that only subsided when Riley reached out to him, needing him to help her up. 

“Thanks Spencer. I’ve got it from here.” Riley let go of his arm and ran the water in the shower. It didn’t take long to get warm but she still didn’t waste any time. The hot water felt good on her skin but standing up for too long was causing her more pain that she originally thought it would. When she came back into the main room, Reid was laying on his back on the bed, hands resting on his chest. His eyes were closed which gave Riley a moment to just watch him. He didn’t flinch when she lay down beside him, her fingers entwined over her stomach. It was the only way she could lay on her back without her ribs hurting. What an awful time to sleep, and yet her eyes just didn’t want to stay open.

“Riley?” Reid’s voice was barely over a whisper. He sounded sleepy too.

“Hm?” Riley hummed in reply.

“I’m sorry. For everything.” 

Riley reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it to the bed between them. “It’s ok Spencer. I forgive you. But…if you’re really that tore up about it, you could always buy me dinner when we get out of here.” Riley joked, Reid smiled and agreed. Before long, they both drifted off into a calm sleep. Whatever they would face in this hell, they would face together.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven  
You Had Me at Hello  
A Day to Remember

 

Reid woke about an hour later with a start. The instant sense of panic passed quickly when he realized they were still alone. Dozing off like that could be dangerous. Riley had rolled over facing him to alleviate the pressure on her ribs but her hand was still in his. He looked at her now without fear of her thinking he was being weird. The bruise across her cheek had blossomed into a deep purple that hurt Reid deep down. Was that from him? He couldn’t be sure.

Many would say she was an average sort of pretty. Nothing that would make a normal man do a double take, but Reid was beginning to see beauty in her. He had thought she was pretty when they first met, but it seemed to be amplifying as time went on. They had met only yesterday but that didn’t seem to be affecting him at all. He had developed a crush on Lyla in as much time.

This was different. Riley physically put herself in harm’s way to keep him safe and had suffered dearly for it. Usually it was the other way around. Slender fingers prodded the cut under his eye, keeping it gentle so he wouldn’t hurt himself. He remembered the care she had shown him while she was hurting far worse than he was. For some reason she was starting to care about him. A coward who couldn’t save her. His mind couldn’t wrap around it. Some things weren’t meant to make sense, he told himself, and let the thought pass. 

After a time of watching her sleep, Reid thought about getting a shower himself. Riley was exhausted so the water shouldn’t wake her, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave her alone on the bed in case the unsub came back. He would just have to make it quick.

The motion of removing his hand from hers didn’t stir her from her slumber. The sleeping woman lay motionless as he rose and walked to the bathroom. One more glance at her from the doorway was all he would allow himself before stripping off his clothes and turning on the water. It wasn’t long before it was heated to his liking but once he was in he was ready to get out. It was hard to try and relax when he kept catching himself listening over the sound of the water to the room beyond, trying to catch every little noise. 

When he finally went back into the bedroom, Riley was sitting up in bed, watching the main door. Had she heard him get up? The sight almost made him step back. She turned to look at him when she noticed him in the doorway of the bathroom.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He said quietly, meaning the apology whole heartedly. She just grinned and looked back at the door. It was a fake. Reid could tell by now, not that it was hard. Somehow he knew that it was second nature for her now and a part of him wondered why she would have the reflex of forcing a smile without second thought. The fake smiles and the defiance in her gaze when she attacked the unsub made Reid wonder if she had been a victim of abuse before. He brushed back some of his wet hair, hoping to banish the thought. So lost in his thoughts, Reid didn’t even realize that Riley was standing now and pacing the length of the glass wall. He could tell she was watching her reflection as she slowly walked, like a lion at the zoo, ready to be free. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t know how much longer I can be in here. I know, it’s not been very long but the longer we stay in here, the less we do, the more trapped I feel” Riley wasn’t panicking, but she was very restless.

This harkened back to her saying wasn’t too claustrophobic. “What’s wrong? I thought small spaces didn’t bother you.” Reid stepped to the side hoping the question would lure her into explaining her hysteria in the back of the truck. He was concerned but not sure yet how to handle the situation. She seemed to want to be pacing faster but her broken and bruised body simply wouldn’t allow it. 

“I want to run. I’m not really claustrophobic unless it’s a super tiny space and I can’t move my arms but I feel like we’ll never get out. I hate being stuck in this box.” She was pacing faster now, her voice growing more irritable. 

“Calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself.” Without a second thought Reid walked over to Riley and grabbed her upper arms, taking care to not be too rough, and looked her in the eye. “Riley, I don’t want to lie to you. I promised we will get out of here but I don’t know that for sure. But I do know that we are in this together no matter what. I know you feel trapped, so do I. This isn’t over and if I have any say in it, I will get you out of here. I still owe you dinner remember?” Riley closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry Spencer. I just… I just don’t know what’s worse. Being stuck in here with no way out, or waiting for time to tick down until tomorrow night. I want the team to find us before then but I know I can’t let myself hope for that too much.” Riley let Reid lead her over to the bed. She was so tired of just laying around. 

“Perhaps I can help pass the time? We don’t have any books but I do have an eidetic memory. Do you like Chaucer?” Reid reclined against the pillows, Riley taking a spot beside him without hesitation. He felt his cheeks flush a little as she leaned her head onto his shoulder and he cleared his throat before he spoke, reciting the Parliament of Fowls his mother had read him so many times when he was a child. She twisted the end of his shirt in her fingers as she listened but her interest simply couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Reid still finished the poem, long after her fingers had stopped moving. He wished he could sleep too. Even with his exhaustion, his eyes just wouldn’t close. Soon his thoughts were again a sea of emotions. So instead of fretting, he laid his cheek on her head, closed his eyes and recited the Parliament of Fowls a second time.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve  
Bottom  
Tool

 

Everyone knows that half dream state right before you wake up completely. Sometimes you fall, sometimes you fly, and sometimes you're stuck in a lull between dreaming and waking. Sounds don't seem real and feelings are amplified. Reality can be converted to fantasy. 

This was where Reid was trapped, but he didn't want to wake up. In his haze he could think about were the drifting moments of clarity. The warmth of Riley in his arms...or was it Maeve? No, Maeve was gone. The thought made Reid's chest hurt. Did he grip Riley tighter? What was that noise? Butterflies. It must be the sounds of butterfly wings because he could feel them lighting on his cheek. Not butterflies, but Riley's breath. Her face must have been close to his because on her exhale he could feel her soft breath on his cheek. This he allowed himself to take comfort in just as he took comfort in the weight of her arm across his chest. What was that noise? It was a muffled but heavy thumping. It seemed to be getting closer and closer, going from unconcerning to frightening and in a moment the giant was upon them!

Before Reid could respond, there was a scream that pulled him roughly out of his half asleep state. Riley's arms clutched at him as she was pulled from the bed. Reid shot up in the bed as the male unsun yanked Riley away from him and she landed with a hard thud on the floor. 

"Riley!" he called as the unsub hit him with a powerful, numbing blow to the face. He fell back, reeling with pain as stars danced before his eyes. All he could see as he struggled to sit up was the blurred form of a giant tossing around a rag doll. Suddenly his focus came back to a thick finger in his face and a thunderous voice that pierced his ringing ears.

"Dammit boy, you will learn! Women are only allowed in your bed when they are serving you!" Tucker pointed to Riley. "If she isn't pleasing you, she stays on the floor where she belongs." Tucker cursed and muttered under his breath, shaking his head in irritated disappointment.

Reid's heart was in his throat, his breathing was ragged and he was shaking all over. He could hear Riley crying quietly on the floor but he was afraid that if he moved toward her, the unsub would come back and attack her again. His eyes darted frantically between Riley and the unsub, unsure of what to do. Deep down he was ashamed. He felt like a coward but he also knew that he was doing the right thing by keeping still.

Tucker quickly exited the room, not giving Reid any time to get up and pursue him. Reid listened as the deadbolt locked and after a moment the door on the other side of the glass opened, allowing the unsub to enter with a camera and tripod in hand. Riley had grown quiet so Reid leaned over slightly to check on her. The unsub didn't seem to notice the young man's actions but Riley did. Her face had grown pale and her blue eyes were firmly set on him. As he looked down at her, she put a shaky finger to her lips to signal his silence. In a way he felt relieved that she knew why he wasn't coming to her rescue, but there was still a nagging voice in his head that was calling him a coward.

"Tucker?" Candace entered, her head low and her voice monotone. "The wiring for camera one is ready. Do you want me to wire camera two or camera four?"

Reid mouthed the name 'Tucker'. Now he knew both of their first names, but he had all but given up on their last names. It would make it easier for the BAU to find them if he knew their last names and he could find a way of telling them when they were livestreamed the next night. Hopefully they already knew the unsubs last names and Reid wouldn't have to worry about that. 

At the moment there was nothing he wanted more than to help Riley off the floor and nothing more painful than not being able too. The scary thing was that she seemed all too used to this and it was beginning to make him uncomfortable. What had she been through in her personal life that enabled her to handle this situation the way she did?

Reid didn't want to think about it. Instead he pushed the thought aside and focused on the present. Riley seemed to have calmed down and Tucker and Candace were getting set up for the livestream. Reid hoped that they would be so busy with the set up that they wouldn't bother giving him any more "lessons". What he had to do the next night was unavoidable at this point but he wanted to give Riley a little time to recuperate before .... He shook his head but the thought didn't want to go away. It was etched into his brain as a curiosity that he almost didn't want to know the answer to.

It didn't take very long for the older couple to set up their equipment, complete with two cameras, a laptop, and tons of cables snaking across the room in thick ropes. Reid noticed the bottom of the door on that side of the glass was a few inches off the floor, to allow for the large ropes of cables to fit through without pinching. That made Reid feel better in a way. He knew that the livestream was their best bet out of here and if anything went wrong, failed connection, faulty wire, damaged camera, their chances of getting out alive narrowed marginally. The question now was, had the team caught on yet? Reid hated being separated from them. Not having a way to contact them was making him pretty nervous. He knew that they worked well together, but he had forgotten how much he needed them.

Impatience was eating at him when their kidnappers left and the time that it took for him to be sure they were really gone was even more excruciating. Once he was sure, he slid off the bed and onto the floor. "Riley? I'm so sorry. I should have done something." Reid checked her for newly broken bones and was relieved when he found nothing broken, just a lot of very nasty bruises darkening all over her body. 

"You did the right thing Reid. If you would have made a move in the wrong direction Tucker would have drawn out the attack or made you do it again." Riley winced as she sat up, allowing Reid to help her to the bed. "I just can't sleep on the bed again. We'll have to be more careful about dozing off like that." They had known better but perhaps it was the hot shower mixed with the exhaustion of stress that made them shut down. Whatever it was they had to be more careful.

"I don't feel like I did the right thing. I know it could have been worse if I would have helped you but that doesn't change the fact that I should have done something." Reid couldn't help but hang his head in shame.  
"Stop it Spencer. We don't have time to blame and regret. We need to think of a way out of here." Riley gripped his arm but she really didn't feel like consoling him. Deep down she wished she could but she really couldn't stir up the energy. Exhaustion and pain had control at this point and she really couldn't fight it. Reid sensed it. 

"You need to rest." He pulled back the blanket and gestured for her to lie down but she refused. "Look, you need the rest more than I do. I'll stay awake and if I hear anything else I'll wake you."

Riley didn't want to agree with him but she really didn't have a choice. She was exhausted and in more pain than she had even been in before. What was to come would be physically impossible for her without rest and she knew it. Reid's eyes bored into hers, pleading that she listen to him. His physical injuries were minor so far, but she was sure his mind was suffering as much as her body. Eventually she gave in and laid down, closing her eyes as he stood and began to pace once more, preparing himself for what was to come. Win or lose, this would all be over soon.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen  
For Everything a Reason  
Carina Round

 

Garcia's fingers loomed over the keyboard in a momentary pause. She swallowed hard, just realizing her mouth was hanging a little slack. For what seemed like weeks she had been watching the chat site, waiting for a link to be posted. The chat was private, blocked in many different ways and at first when she gained access she praised herself, saying if any lesser hacker would have tried, they may have failed. But her small victory felt more like defeat as she watched the men come and go, bragging about their dominations of women. Garcia felt as if she was behind a two way mirror, watching them converse with each other. Even though she knew they could not see her, she still felt that every move could compromise her surveillance efforts.

For all her waiting, now that the link had been posted and the men from the chat were flocking to the world on the other side of that link, Garcia knew she wasn't ready. But Tucker wasn't going to wait for her to be ready. Still, it had to be done and she knew she couldn't do it alone. Heels long abandoned under her desk, Garcia half ran, half slid across the office to the conference room, where Morgan and Rossi were reviewing the boards. They had been over it all a million times since the abduction, to the point they knew it all by heart. The boards had merely been a bad distraction when sleep wasn't attainable. 

The three quickly made their way back to her office, Morgan tapping on the glass of Hotch's office as they passed. Aaron had already seen Garcia the first time and immediately picked up his case files to join them. 

With her team behind her, Morgan's hand firmly on her shoulder, the calm of Rossi behind her, and the rock hard presence of Hotch beside her, she found the strength the click the link. Immediately the screen changed to a room, small and cramped with a bed in the center of the view. Reid was pacing the floor, Riley was sitting on a dog bed, propped up in the corner. The men in the chat were making comments about how obediently she was sitting, while others were insisting her obvious bruises made her a free spirit, hard to tame, and therefore not good "wife" material. Others still made comment about liking the feisty ones, along with several lewd remarks about what they would have personally done to Riley. 

Within minutes, Tucker Hill sat before the camera, his back to the glass. Reid stopped pacing, unsure now of what to do. The man was obviously huge. Morgan shook his head, unsure of how Reid could hope to take a stand against Tucker. Garcia's trembling fingers wrapped around Morgan's hand and he gave her a gentle squeeze. 

"Hello. To our newest members, I say welcome. Hopefully you will take a lesson from this, and enhance your own lives. First, I would like to tell you what we're all about.” Tucker braced his elbows on his knees. “As men, we were created first. We are stronger, smarter, and faster than females. And yet they want equality. This only proves their ignorance, because they aren't smart enough to see how weak and defenseless they are. As enlightened men," Tucker gestured toward the camera and likewise, to his viewers, "It's up to us to put women back in their places. This won't be easy, as many 'men' have been brainwashed into thinking women ARE their equals. It's a sad day and time for us men. But today is another chance. All of the others were failures, but in our failings, we have learned very important  
details for our project. We're one step closer every month, and when we find these men and show them what they are meant to be, we can start moving forward to change the world."

Morgan shook his head as Garcia scoffed. This guy was a lunatic, and Morgan could tell Garcia agreed at how tightly she was not gripping his hand. She was angry. Morgan cocked an eyebrow at Rossi who chanced a little grin. Too bad it was fake. They may be shocked and annoyed at Tucker, but it was simply a mask for the worry they all had deep down. Reid and Palmer may not make it out alive. The BAU could very well be the witnesses to their deaths.

Garcia began to type furiously on the keyboard. "I'll shut him down, see how stupid a woman can be." Hotch quickly placed his hand on hers, stopping her typing.

"I know you're upset, but if you shut him down now he'll know something is up and he may dispose of Reid and Palmer. If he does that, he could drop off and it could be years til we find him again. I know it's hard, but he have to be patient."

Garcia inhaled sharply, pulling her hands back to her lap, eyes falling from his them as she did. She hated not being able to help Reid, so inside, she prayed to anything she could think of to bring him home safely. On the screen things were getting bad. Tucker was showing them the "bait". An older, homeless woman, dressed in rags. The lady was obviously drugged as she did not fight her bonds, her head lolling around on her shoulders. A stiff pale woman stood behind her with a gun in her hand.

"That's her. The woman that approached us at the gas station." Morgan quietly pointed her out. 

"Alright boy. Tell them all your name, age, and occupation, for the record." Tucker sneered, his voice slightly sarcastic. For a moment Reid was still but then he answered in a well versed lie. 

"My name is Reid Smith. I'm 30 years old and I'm a civil engineer." 

Reid had obviously been thinking hard on this. The BAU knew that Reid would never had used his name without reason so they just assumed Riley had already addressed him as 'Reid' in front of Tucker. 

"Who are you training?" Tucker said, sounding a little bored when addressing Reid about Palmer.

Reid looked back at her for an instant, then back to the camera. "My girlfriend, Riley Dayton. She's an accountant. We have been together for two years come November." he looked into the camera and emphasized the last word. "But I want to learn how to take my place. I want to....echo....your teachings." Reid stepped forward and gestured, giving special pause for the word echo. “I too hope that someday, your teachings can rise above the underground.” 

"Write that down Rossi, he's using code." Hotch said, prompting Rossi to start writing. "He's emphasizing words. November, and Echo."

"That's Nato Phonetic Code. NE. Nebraska." Morgan stated, looking to Rossi for confirmation. “And he just said ‘rise above the underground’”

"It means we were right in saying he was in Nebraska. They must be in a basement or something. Garcia, look up their personal files again and cross check the wife’s last name with properties owned by her or members of her immediately family in Nebraska. Maybe he's using one of her houses to keep the heat off of his own properties." Hotch placed orders quickly and as Garcia turned to another screen to work, Hotch stepped out the door and informed a fast approaching J.J. to get the jet ready. She didn't even have time to put her coat down before she was striding across the room to the conference room to use the phone there. If it wasn't for her husband and young son she wouldn't have even left the office. Hotch had made her leave when she started being physically distressed, pacing the floors and looking quite pale. They were all worried but he knew that she was probably thinking back on the time she was supposed to have Reid's back and he was kidnapped.

"I found an address." Garcia said to Hotch when he returned, pointing to the screen as she spoke. "There are two in Nebraska, within twenty miles of each other. Nearest airport is a privately owned strip near Monowi Nebraska. That’s two and a half hours from here." Garcia looked worried. Two and a half hours, Reid and Palmer could be dead by then. 

"Good. But if we go to the wrong place we could be doing more harm than good. I’ll let J.J. know approximately where we’re going so she can have the jet ready. Garcia, I want you to track that signal and see if you can pinpoint the location. Rossi, keep taking notes. Reid is bound to give us more information unless Tucker shuts him down. Just listen to everything.” Hotch’s long strides had him from Garcia’s office to the conference room in no time flat. 

“Two and a half hours, they could be….” Her words caught in her throat and although she swallowed hard, the lump just seemed to move up faster. 

“Hey, baby girl, calm down. You need to focus and find them ok?” Morgan tried to keep his voice calm and level but on the inside he felt helpless. Trapped here, when he was most needed there. Even with his inner turmoil, his words seemed to break through to Garcia in some small way and her fingers began typing again. 

Back on the screen, Tucker was standing, facing the glass. Reid stood almost defensively between Tucker and Riley. Even though the glass separated them, it was obvious that Reid was highly threatened by Tucker. They could see Reid’s face better now and Garcia gasped at the cut and bruising on his face. A whimper escaped her but she continued trying to break the feeds security to find the location of where Reid and Palmer were being detained. 

“Show us boy. Just like we practiced. Go on now….spread my word.” Tucker grinned maliciously, grabbing at himself, both gestures invisible to the camera. Reid didn’t realize how dry his mouth was until his tongue swiped across his lips. Instinctively he shuffled his feet. Inside the storm raged once more, the winds of his mind tore his heart to pieces. On the outside, a single bead of sweat streaked down his face. Slowly he turned to face Riley. Her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful, the bruises purple and blue like flowers on a silk sheet, smooth and pale. His steps toward her seemed in silence. Her flesh gave way under his hands with no feeling at all. The world was in slow motion, without sight or smell, sound or touch. 

Garcia’s tears replaced those that Riley hardly had left to cry. Her face long tucked into the chest of her male companion, the traced address blinking in red on the screen had prompted Hotch to leave and ready the jet and he was glad to be gone. If only for a moment he was spared as the rest of his team watched in horror. J.J. with her hand on his mouth, eyes red and swollen, Rossi fighting the urge to look away, Morgan wanting nothing more than to stand and swipe the computers onto the floor in a flurry of rage and sparks. His only anchor was Penelope and even that couldn’t let forever in this storm. The sea would claim the chain eventually. 

Through it all, Riley clutched at Reid, not breaking the connection, needing him to be her anchor, and knowing full well that he needed it from her as well. Blocking out the pain was not easy but she tried too hard to focus on how she clung to him. A moment of holding his shirt, or his belt loop, for a moment his wrist. She tried to focus on his scent, on the slight caress of his hair on her cheek, on the dropping of moisture on her skin. Those azure eyes remained closed so she wasn’t sure if it was his sweat or his tears. Either was possible at this point but she didn’t want to open her eyes. The girl’s body was full of senses and his was void of all. 

When Tucker spoke again it was to demand more from Reid. By this point, all but Garcia had boarded the plane. Garcia spoke prayers for Reid. Eyes welled with tears, she watched as he stopped mid movement. Riley was on the floor, Reid poised over her, still on his feet, his left hand clenching the front of her gown, his right raised and trembling. Garcia couldn’t tell if he was crying or not but Riley was. Her light sobs could barely be heard over Tucker’s thunderous voice demanding that Reid pin Riley to the wall and…take her for his own. 

Garcia shook her head furiously, dangling earrings clanking loudly in protest. “No Reid.” She whispered. But still he agent lifted Riley and put her to the wall. Riley could hardly stand but Reid kept her up, his mouth poised inches from hers. She was talking to him. Tucker was waving the gun around, annoyed now that things were not going his way. The captive woman on his side of the glass was pleading for her life as Tucker cocked the pistol and held it to her head.

Reid’s hands trembled and he licked his lips again, shutting his eyes tight as Tucker demanded again that he take Riley. The young man’s hands renewed their grip on his companion’s wrists. He was so close to kissing her. But this he couldn’t do. He shook his head. Everything was so damn loud. Riley crying, the woman screaming, Tucker yelling, his own heart beating hard in his ears. It was too much and Reid shook his head again in protest. All sound seemed to end as the gun fired and Garcia let out a cry as she jumped and looked away. With a gasp Reid’s head slumped forward to Riley’s shoulder and the both sank slowly to the floor as Tucker spoke to the camera.

“Another failure. But we’ve learned a lot and we’re so much closer than we were a month ago. Meet here tomorrow night, same time, for an overview and analysis. Hope you took notes.” Tucker switched off the camera.

Hands on his hips he let out a frustrated sigh. “Get this thing outta my sight. And clean up this mess.” He waves dismissively to the dead woman, her blood, bone, and flesh scattered about the room. “We need to finish this. I’ll go get the other one.” Tucker left and his wife immediately started to drag the body from the room. In the meantime, Garcia made a call to her team.

“Hotch, it’s over. Reid failed and Tucker killed the other hostage and now he’s cut the video feed. I don’t know what to do, he could be killing them now and I can’t do anything.” She was practically hyperventilating now.

“Calm down Garcia. We’re already enroute. We’ll be there in a little less than two hours. If anything changes, call me.” Hotch urged in the calmest tone he could muster. The whole damn team was on the plane, stressing in their various ways. All of them wondering the same thing. Would they make it in time?


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen  
My Demons  
Starset

 

Reid and Riley didn’t move for the longest time. Breathing hurt, thinking hurt, living hurt. If Riley had the energy left to cry she would be. Instead her body lay practically limp, her hands clutched tightly at the fabric of his shirt, just above his hips. He knelt over her, head on her shoulder, hands braced against the wall. He was breathing hard but Riley wasn’t sure if he was crying. She didn’t want him to cry. 

“Such a failure. 

Riley jumped when she heard Tucker’s voice, Reid’s head whipped around but his body drew closer to Riley, shielding her. Lost in their own thoughts they didn’t hear Tucker enter the glass room. Candace was still cleaning blood off the floor as Tucker was pulling down all of the video equipment. 

“You don’t have to do this. Take me and let her go. You don’t have to kill her, she did everything you asked.” Reid’s voice shook, even though he was trying very hard to keep it in. 

“Stupid boy.” Tucker scoffed, as if he couldn’t believe that Reid would suggest it. “She’s yours. You failed. You can’t walk out of here, so she can’t walk out of her.” Tucker walked out one door, and dropped a knife through the food port. “I’m not going to kill her. You are.” The closing of the metal flap seemed so much louder with those words. Tucker peeked back into the glass room, speaking to Candace this time. “Get that other girl again. We’ll need leverage for this one.” He said, in a half growl as he glared at Reid. Candace nodded as Tucker left.

Reid looked at the glistening metal on the other side of the room and shook his head in silent denial. This couldn’t be happening. Sometimes it seemed the end would never come and he could only hope that his team had gotten his subtle hints as to their location. If only there was a better way. Something more he could have said to them, to lead them here. His hints were sparse but it was all that he could get out before it started. Everything had happened so fast and at the same time it seemed like he was in a dream that was in slow motion. His hands were throbbing but he refused to think about it. It caused a wellspring of guilt to bubble in his stomach for the damage he inflicted on Riley was far worse that his own wounds. Yet nothing as bad as what Tucker would have done to her.

Who knows, they may not have made it this far if he had failed sooner, or Tucker may have kept them and beat Riley worse. Reid’s final assault could have been life threatening if that was the case. The metal door of the food slot slapped closed once more and a wad of bloody ropes was dropped through it, coiling over the knife like an angry snake. Candace reentered the glass room and continued cleaning the chair.

“Tie her up.” Candace spoke for the first time. Tucker wasn’t even here and she spoke. Riley looked around Reid, perplexed. Reid stood and went to the glass, hoping to plead his case with Candace. 

“Please, just let us go and I promise you’ll be safe. She’s going to die and I….”Reid swallowed his words. “I can only image the terrible things he’s done to you over the years and I know that you must feel hopeless. But it doesn’t have to end like this. You can let us go. Right now. And you can come with us and everything will be ok. He’ll go away for a very long time and you’ll be safe to start your life again.” Reid’s still smooth voice had a profound calming effect that seemed to be striking all the right chords. Candace’s eyes were red by now and she was scrubbing the chair with so much force that the bristles of her brush were bending under the weight. The chair was clean and still she stared at the stained wood as if she was staring into another plane of reality. One where she was free and would never be forced to do anything she didn’t want to. 

Reality is reality however, and that world didn’t exist. She was too old to start over. “I can’t.” Candace stood, whipping the sweat from her face with a trembling hand.

“Yes you can, you can. Please just-“

“I said I can’t!” Candace yelled back at him. “Now get her tied up before he comes back or so help me I’ll kill you both right now.” Candace pulled the gun from her apron pocket and waved it at them. Murder wasn’t in her but neither was free thought. Not anymore. 

“Tie her to the bed. And hurry.” Candace gave Riley one final pitiful look as she left, her eyes pleading for forgiveness that Riley was surely not willing to give. 

Riley was standing before the door closed and Reid hurried to help her stand. “I can’t tie you up Riley. I can’t keep doing this.”

“Stop acting like you have a choice Spencer. Face it. We failed. We’re not getting out of here alive. We gave it a good run now….just….let me rest.” All hope had gone from her. Every ounce of energy was set to keeping her alive and she was just so tired. Reid helped her lay down and she could hear him going for the rope and the knife. Riley could hear him pause before picking the items up and returning to the bed.

“I really don’t know if I can do this.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at his own reflection on the surface, the rope coiled in his lap.

“Haven’t you ever gotten kinky before?” Riley’s said, her sarcasm edging more on insult that humor and she immediately sighed and apologized. “I’m sorry Spencer. I’m just tired and I want this to end. At this point I don’t even care how. I just want to sleep.”

“End….” Reid rolled the handle of the knife in his hand. He looked around the room for a moment, then back to the knife. “This is going to end. I have a plan. Get some rest if you can.”

It took longer than Reid expected for Tucker to come back. Riley had fallen asleep, no longer able to face sheer exhaustion. Reid was pacing again, his fingernails on the blade as he walked and thought about what he was about to do. 

Tucker dragged in the vagrant woman, still heavily drugged and looking very groggy, and he ordered Candace to tie her to the chair. Their clothing looked wet and Reid knew it was raining above ground. 

“Good and tied up I see.” Tucker grinned, grabbing at himself again. Reid caught Tucker doing that as he was forced to beat Riley for the livestream. This was the end game. The real reason for all of it. “Cut her.”

Reid stepped closer to Riley, looking down at her sleeping form. He could do this and make it quick for her. She didn’t know about his plans as he needed her reactions to be as genuine as possible. Every second that ticked by was hopefully bringing his team that much closer to them. But how long could he stall? Reid wasn’t sure but he had his plan and hoped it would work. With a deep breath, he swallowed hard and spoke, keeping his eyes on Riley and knowing she would wake with his voice.

“That’s the whole point isn’t it. It’s not to ‘train’ men the ‘right way of thinking’. No. You’re impotent. You need to watch me stab her to get off don’t you.”

“What?” Tucker’s rage was boiling, he leaned forward as if to hear Reid better. 

“You heard me. Let me guess, you started trying to control women when you had one laugh because you just couldn’t get it up right?” Reid looked defiantly at Tucker. “Then you must have been to jail right? Domestic abuse from the look of it and I’m sure you saw some things. Did you see someone get stabbed in there Tucker? You got off on that didn’t you? Watching someone else have a knife cut through their flesh like you wished you could in other ways.”

“Shut up boy!” Tucker pounded the glass but he couldn’t hide his own body from betraying him. “Cut her. Cut her now! Or I’ll kill this bitch here and now.”

Riley woke to Tucker’s yelling and caught herself before calling him Spencer. “Reid?” Riley pulled at her restraints as she woke, almost forgetting about them in the transition. “Don’t let her die too.” Reid sat down next to her and Riley whispered. “You can do this Spencer.” She whispered as he came closer. “You know where to do it where I won’t bleed out. Maybe it’ll give your team more time to get here.”

She had at least caught on to his attempts to stall as long as possible, and maybe it was his imagination but he could always swear that she didn’t want this to go well. As if she just wanted a way out. Reid’s brow furrowed in worry and pity….and shame. 

“Give her a nice one. On the wrist.” Tucker said to Reid’s back and although the young man couldn’t see his captor’s face, he could tell in his voice that there was a smile on it. 

Reid readjusted the knife in his hand but it didn’t stop the shaking. Riley closed her eyes and her head was facing away from him now. The clenching of her jaw was apparent. Reid reached up over her head and cut her forearm. The feeling of the blade slicing through her flesh made his stomach churn. Every time he had dissected an animal in the past had never made him sick. Not even the smell of the formaldehyde sickened him like the feeling of cutting another human being and feeling the thick warm blood on his hands. Riley whimpered but she quickly clenched her teeth shut. She wasn’t going to give Tucker the pleasure of hearing her scream.

“It’s not deep enough boy. Do the other one.” Tucker growled.

Reid leaned over Riley, feeling her turn her head under him and press her face to his chest. Cutting her wasn’t easy but having her so close just made it harder. His hands were shaking as he neared her other arm. Even with Tucker’s urging that Reid make the cuts deeper, Reid refused. The cut was just the same as the first and their captor was outraged.

“Son of a bitch boy! You’re ruining her! Go to her legs.”

Reid pulled back away from Riley, the blood on his hands making the blade slip around in his grip. The cuts weren’t life threatening but she was bleeding a lot. Sweat dotted her forehead and her breathing was sharp and irregular.

“Pull that gown up.” Tucker said as Reid repositioned himself. 

Slender, trembling hands loomed over the tattered hem of the gown. This wasn’t him. None of it was. Hitting her, cutting her, now lifting her skirt. His fingers slid under the fabric lightly and he pulled it back a little, but Tucker insisted more. Dark eyes closed for a moment, trying to keep the thoughts together. Once they opened again, Reid pulled the gown up higher, slightly revealing plain white panties. Riley’s legs were instinctively trying to pull closed but her ankle restraints made it impossible. “I’m so sorry Riley…” He whispered, his voice just as shaky as his hands. “I can’t do this.”

That threw Tucker over the cliff. In an instant he was up and through the door, so angry he didn’t make sure it was closed all the way. Reid could have took off and never looked back but the thought never crossed his mind. He would get out of here with Riley, or not at all. Tucker stormed in, grabbed the bloody knife from Reid and threw him back away from the bed. Riley was struggling now, calling for Reid as Tucker towered over her. The blade met the skin on the top of her thigh and as the blade sliced through the flesh there, Riley’s scream was muffled with the thunderous smashing of wood on bone. 

Tucker fell like a ton of bricks and Reid took a second blow to Tucker’s head with a drawer from the dresser. Once Tucker was motionless, Reid discarded the drawer, his eyes meeting Candace’s behind the pane of glass across the room. They stood frozen, waiting to see what the other would do. Reid could hear his pulse in his ears. They were running out of time and if Candace decided to fight back they wouldn’t get far. To Reid’s surprise, Candace dropped the gun, then kicked it away. Reid gave her a nod of thanks, then retrieved the knife, making quick work of the restraints. Candace was going to let them go, no matter the consequences from her husband.

As he released Riley from her restraints, Reid wished he had done some strength training with Morgan. Riley was badly injured, bleeding everywhere, and becoming paler by the minute. If she didn’t get help soon, she would bleed to death. Reid quickly pulled the pillowcase off of the pillow on the bed and tied it around the gash on Riley’s leg. The cuts he inflicted were small and superficial but Tucker’s was far worse and Riley was bleeding profusely. 

Reid looped his arm around Riley as she stood, hooking her arm over his neck. The prospect of getting out gave her a little energy but nowhere near what was needed to get up and run. She didn’t even realize they were outside until she felt the cold rain on her face. A strong wind almost knocked them over but Reid regained his balance and looked around. 

A farmhouse to the right and a large windmill on the other side of the yard with security light near it shed enough light on the area to reveal a parting in the trees that surrounded the property. It was the driveway snaking into the darkness. 

Reid walked as fast as he could with the injured Riley. He knew they couldn’t’ stay on the road. When Tucker came to, the he would surely drive out to find them. Quickly he led Riley into the woods, urging her on.

Reid could hear police sirens in the distance and his heart raced. His team was closing in. Soon everything would be over. And then he heard it. Tucker yelling from behind them. Riley couldn’t move fast enough. She was slipping on mud and her own blood. The rain pelted them and slowed them down even further. Tucker would catch up with them. He must have seen them go into the woods. And he had two things Reid and Riley lacked. He knew the terrain, and he had a flashlight. 

The sirens were getting closer, but so was Tucker and Reid knew the killer would reach them before the BAU would. By now he could see the lights through the trees. The road wasn’t far. But Riley couldn’t hold on any longer. 

“Riley, stay here. Don’t move and don’t make a sound.” He helped her to the ground but she was clinging to her shirt.

“Please don’t go Spencer. Don’t leave me here, he’s coming.” Tucker was closing in. The thoughts of having to go back into that storm shelter were more than she could bear. “I know what you’re doing but if you draw him away and he sees you he’ll kill you. What would I do without you? Don’t run, just hide.”

“I’ll come back for you. I promise.” He pulled her hands away, gripping them with the promise of his return. “Stay here and be quiet.” Reid stood, crouched, and ran toward where he thought the road was. Tucker was closing in on Riley and he was running out of time. He called out, “Hey!” 

Tucker’s flashlight left his path and shined on Reid. It was enough to get Tucker to change his course too. Reid turned tail and ran, bullets raining down thick chunks of tree bark. It was all too close. 

Riley covered her mouth to stifle a scream. Her palms braced on the tree behind her and she tried to stand. The pain was excruciating but this couldn’t be it. Spencer couldn’t die out there in the mud when they were so close to freedom.

She could see the lights through the trees and Spencer running toward them. The world was in slow motion. Reid was in the light now, running toward his team, Tucker in hot pursuit. The gunshots sounded so faint now but bits of tree bark showered down slowly around Reid. It was the last thing Riley saw as she crumpled to the ground.

When Reid’s feet hit the gravel of the driveway he slid out into the road, throwing his hands out to catch his balance. His hair was clinging to his face, rain threatened to blind him as it streamed over his eyes. The converse shoes held no traction in the mud and gravel driveway but still Reid pressed on, knowing that a misstep could cause his own death, and the possible death of Riley. The thought of her bleeding out in the woods pressed him on. 

The SUV’s were close now, Reid ran toward them, hands raised in the headlights. The vehicles stopped and Reid could hear Morgan yelling for him to get down. A bullet hit the ground, hot on Reid’s heels and he threw himself down so his team could return fire.   
Hotch landed the killing blow, two bullets lodging themselves deep in Tucker’s chest and the giant of a man landed in the gravel with a sickening wet thud. 

“Kid, are you alright? Where’s Palmer?” Morgan raced to Reid and helped him up.

“She’s out there. She’s still in the woods. You need to get an ambulance out here, she’s hurt.” Reid looked back the direction he came from.

“They’re right behind us kid. Show me where she is.”

“Hotch, there’s a farm house at the end of the drive. That’s where we were being held. Candace is still there and there may be other woman held captive.” Reid yelled back at Hotch as he followed his path back down the drive, trying to find where he exited the woods. Morgan couldn’t remember a time Reid had outran him but he didn’t question it. He simply followed as quickly as he could. 

“Riley!” Reid called, searching frantically for his now lost companion. Then he saw it. Spattered white against the darkness. When he and Morgan reached her, she was unconscious. Reid slipped and landed on the ground beside her, lifting her from the earth as he wiped the mud and clumped hair from her face. She did not stir at his touch and he feared the worst. Pressing his fingers to her throat he confirmed she had a pulse, though it was very weak.

Morgan pushed through and picked her up with ease. Reid walked side by side with Morgan as they made their way through the forest once more, his fingers holding tight to the remnants of her gown’s hem. Morgan didn’t miss this gesture. 

When they returned, Hotch had sent the local PD to the farm house, claiming that it was all wrapped up and they were going to be with their injured agent. The police chief thanked them for their work and got in his car to meet his own team. An officer stood near his car, a tarp covered the fallen form of Tucker in the driveway but Reid still eyed it as if it would rise to torture him once more.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen  
Wonderwall  
Oasis

 

The medics met them at the road and immediately pulled Riley out of Morgan’s arms. Reid fell back as the team carried her away. Her ghostly white face reflected the colored lights but she looked peaceful. Morgan stayed back with Reid, unsure of if he needed to apologize for letting this happen to him, or if he needed to console him. Instead he met his friend’s eyes and said “Go. They’ll let you ride with her.”

“No. She’s better off without me.” Reid shook his head, unable to keep Morgan’s gaze. The shame he felt was overwhelming. 

“Reid, you saved her. I’m sure she knows that. You need to be with her. She’s gunna need you when she wakes up.” Morgan stood for a moment more but when his friend didn’t move he clamped his hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He couldn’t make Reid do anything he didn’t want to. Giving up for now, Morgan left Reid there to go join Hotch, calling Garcia as he trotted through the mud and gravel.

Reid watched as the paramedics loaded Riley into the ambulance. A medic looked at him before they left and motioned him to join them but Reid just raised a hand to decline. She would be better off without him and yet… he still felt he wanted to be beside her. Little did he know that Rossi was watching him closely. 

The rain had all but stopped as the ambulance screamed into the distance. Reid jumped as Rossi wrapped a thick grey blanket over the young doctor’s shoulders. His dark gaze broke from the spot he last saw the ambulance but only for a moment before returning to the darkness. 

“Let’s go. They’ll airlift her to Omaha. We’ll get there late but it’ll give you some time to think.” Rossi’s hand never left his companion’s shoulder. He was such a nurturing soul. Under his outward classic gangster look, Morgan was right to call him ‘mom’. Genius as he was, Reid still returned Rossi’s comment with confusion. “She’s going to want to see you when she wakes up. I’m just sorry that when she wakes up and you won’t be there.” Rossi walked away. He always knew exactly what to say to stir the hearts of those around him. This was no different. Reid looked back at the road one last time, then joined his team and let the local police work out the rest. 

It would take almost four hours to drive to Omaha, but it was the only place where there was a hospital that could deal with the severity of Riley’s injuries. Reid would need all of that time to think about what to say to her. If he were to say anything at all. 

Reid climbed into the SUV and waited for the others. J.J. opened the door on the other side and scoot in close to Reid. Her blue eyes said it all to Reid and he leaned his head back as she grabbed his hand, covered with filth. “They’ll want to examine you.”

“I’m fine.” Reid said flatly, closing his eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to return her grip, unsure if it was exhaustion or shame. J.J. was right however, and Reid knew that he would have to be examined, physically and mentally as soon as they got to Omaha. That still gave him four hours to sleep. Or more, pretend to sleep as his mind replayed every horrific second of his experience. 

J.J. looked down at his hands, swollen and bloody under the mud. Although she would never admit it, she was forced to see Reid in a different light. All the way here she wondered how long that image might last. The whole team had watched Reid stand over Palmer and strike her repeatedly. None of this was his fault. J.J. couldn’t blame him, but she did have a newfound respect for his strength and what he was willing to do in certain situations. It scared her. But Reid was still her friend and she still loved him. Right now that was what he needed, not a teammate that was afraid of him. 

J.J. waited, unsure of what to say. Reid had that wall up again and there was no way she was going to get him to talk yet. Instead of testing his limits, she just let it go. Morgan, Rossi, and Hotch joined them in the SUV and without a word they turned around drove away. All was silent. No one knew quite what to say. After a time, Morgan’s phone rang. Garcia begged to talk to Reid but Morgan persuaded her that it wasn’t the time and she dropped the case. At least she got the satisfaction of knowing he was alive and safe. Rossi looked back at Reid, the doctor’s wet and matted hair stuck to his muddy face, his head leaned against the window in his fake sleep. No amount of faking it could fool his team mates. They could almost feel the tension and turning of Reid’s mind. None of them spoke.

Reid tried to think of better things. Unrelated things. Yet his mind kept returning to Riley. When he first met her he shook her hand. That was all but unheard of with him. He didn’t like to touch people he didn’t know. But she was so vulnerable and intimidated by him as a profiler. He thought of them talking in the van before they were abducted. How her eyes lit up when she talked about things she liked. Or how the breeze from Rossi’s open window rippled her dark curls in the sunlight.

Their interactions and conversations were all imprinted in his mind as perfectly as a picture yet none stood out to him as much as when she was asleep in his arms. For all of his intelligence, for all of his memorization and logic there was one thing he was incapable of. One thing that all the facts and knowledge in the world could not reveal to him. The future. What would happen after they reached the hospital was unknown to him and it scared him. What if she hated him now? What if after all of that she finally came to her senses and never wanted to see him again? Would every memory of him be tainted with blood and violence? After this the mere thought of him might spark the fiercest nightmares to plague her sleep. Should he face the possibility of her fear when she awoke, or should he run from it and refuse to see her? Hide in his regret and let her go to live her life. Maybe the healing would be easier for her without a constant reminder of what he had done to her. The scars that were bound to riddle her body were mostly caused by him and every time she would look at them, he was sure she would think badly on him. In his bright and brilliant mind, only the darkness of loss remained. He knew no option other than this. To leave her in order for her to heal.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen  
Don’t You Remember  
Adele

 

“Spencer?” The name was a whisper on bruised lips. Pale brow wrinkled with concern. Fear. Eyelashes fluttered with quickly moving closed eyes. “Spencer? Where are you?” Louder still and more intense. Running through a forest maze, dark and forbidding. Rain pelts her from the heavens, so heavy she can’t see what’s ahead. It’s thick and red like blood and a single white light penetrates the darkness with the thunderous voice of Tucker following it. Her feet, cold and bare, slip in the blood soaked mud until she stops sliding and it begins to consume her. The mire begins to swallow her whole. Where was Reid? He said he would come back for her and yet he was nowhere in sight. Finally she broke her dream, lurching upward, screaming his name into the abyss. 

“Hey, Riley, calm down. It’s just a dream.” Morgan’s hands were on her in an instant. He had heard her from down the hall and raced to check on her. Light flooded into the dark room, a few nurses and a doctor looked through the door, making sure everything was ok before returning to their work. Morgan gently pushed her back to the bed. “It was just a dream. You’re safe. You’re ok now.”

“Where’s Spencer?” Riley demanded. Morgan’s eyes couldn’t hold with hers. He looked down at the bed as he spoke, fidgeting with his fists as he thought of what to say. Reid had left him in a very delicate position.

“He’s ok. He went back to Quantico with the team. The doctors have cleared you for transfer and since your department was swamped, I came to make sure it all goes smoothly.” It wasn’t easy for Morgan to give that kind of news to Palmer. With everything that she and Reid had been through together, he thought it was only right for Reid to stick around for Palmer but his young colleague had a different view on the subject.

“He left?” Riley looked away, feeling the sting of tears rising in her throat. “He didn’t even say goodbye.” She really didn’t know how to feel about it all. He seemed like he cared so much for her, now he was running away, as if he didn’t really care at all. In a way, she felt a little played but she quickly dismissed the thought. Reid wasn’t the type and she knew it. So why else was he running?

Morgan wasn’t sure how to respond. He could easily let Reid get away with it all and not tell her that he came to see her before he left for Virginia. Morgan could hide it all and break Palmer down so far that Reid could get what he seemed to want. Distance from Palmer. But Morgan knew damn well that Reid was running from shame. Hell, who could blame him? Derek Morgan wasn’t about to let Reid get away that easy. Palmer obviously cared for Reid. Maybe she could heal him, and it seemed like she needed him to heal too.

“He had to go.” Morgan lied, trying to spare the poor girl as much as possible. “You’ve been   
here for days and we have cases back home.” Morgan didn’t tell her that Reid had come here right after his examination. He had superficial wounds and was released immediately. Reid didn’t know that Morgan was watching him. 

It was late when they released Reid. The rains resumed shortly after they arrived at the hospital and continued still. Flash floods were threatening surrounding areas and the hospital was preparing for the worst. Hotch gathered the team once Palmer stabilized and told them they had a new case that needed their immediate attention. The unit chief knew Reid would need time and offered it to him, but the doctor refused. Hotch nodded, knowing he couldn’t make Reid stay. Couldn’t make him rest and heal before he was ready to. 

Hotch retreated down the hall and Morgan watched Reid as he paced toward Palmer’s door. With apparent reservations, Reid opened the door and stepped into the darkness beyond. Morgan followed at a distance, peering in the door as Reid sat at the edge of Palmer’s hospital bed, his hands resting in his lap. After a moment, Morgan could hear Reid saying something in a hushed tone, but he couldn’t make the words out. It sounded like he was close to tears and Morgan decided it was time to make himself known.

“You ok kid?” Morgan spoke calmly.

“Yeah.” Reid refused to look at Morgan. He pulled himself together and just stared at Riley’s face. The transfusions went well, as did the procedure to close her lacerated leg. The color was back in her cheeks but the mix of exhaustion and pain meds would keep her out for a few days. “Just saying goodbye.” Reid stood, feeling like he hadn’t quite gotten everything out. 

“You don’t have to go. You can stay here with her.” Morgan attempted to persuade him but Reid only shook his head and walked away. 

Morgan didn’t think Riley needed to know all of that. She would be transferred to a hospital in New York later that day where her parents would be waiting for her. After everything that happened to her and Reid’s apparent abandonment, she may never return. Morgan may never see her again. Let her heal, like Reid wants. 

Riley nodded, wishing she understood as well as the simple gesture made it look like she did. The head say forget about it. Move on and let the memory of him fade like a dream. The heart disagrees. Go to him. Find him and forgive him and patch whatever was there. If there was anything there at all. The head says she imagined it. The heart says she felt it. The head says he was just trying to ease her so they could get out alive, the heart says he was protecting her. Her hands rub her face, but the waters of the heart and mind were in turmoil. 

Morgan sensed the tension in the air and decided to give her a minute to think. “I’m going out to get the doctor. The sooner they start the transfer, the sooner we can get you home.” As the agent neared the door he heard words that stopped him in his tracks, hand braced on the door.

“He’s my hero, you know?” 

The silence lasted longer than Morgan cared for it to but he had nothing to say. Reid saved both of them and it seemed like everyone could see it but him. This was Reid’s hill to climb however, and Morgan decided to step out of the room and out of the problem. If it was him, he would stay by Riley and do what he could to make sure she healed physically and emotionally, as she should. But he wasn’t Reid. That kid didn’t see how his actions were causing more pain that he intended. 

Raindrops spattered on Riley’s window, the tempest outside held back only by the glass. Before Morgan even walked out to the hallway, Riley had already decided what she was going to do about Doctor Spencer Reid.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen  
Almost Lover  
A Fine Frenzy

 

All eyes were on Riley as she strode into the round table room at the BAU. Garcia greeted her with a hug and the others stood to welcome her. Although she was happy to see them all again, the one face she really needed to see was absent. Reid was not here and Riley knew her face had wilted a little in disappointment when she realized it. But she quickly regained her smile when Rossi came to her. The bruises had not quite healed yet and her ribs hurt like hell sometimes but she was able to get up and move around with little limping now. 

“You shouldn’t be out and about yet Palmer. Come sit down.” Rossi said, guiding her to a chair as they all took their own places. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had been ordered to bed rest for the next few weeks but the waiting was killing her much faster than her wounds ever could. She had no contact with Reid since they escaped, nor had she tried. Instead she stayed at home and made up arguments and conversations and apologies, but none of them felt right. 

“Yeah I know I just…” Riley sighed but she knew she couldn’t lie. They all knew why she was here. What she was here for. “I needed to see Reid again. Even if he doesn’t want to see me, I need some sort of closure.” 

The others looked at each other, Hotch closed his case file and leaned forward on the table. The look of pity and worry that marked Garcia’s face told Riley that something just wasn’t right. Morgan tapped his pen on the table, raising his brow at Hotch as they waited for him to explain.

“Reid is taking personal time. He didn’t want to but I made him and now he’s cut contact with all of us. He’s not been out of his apartment since he left here and he’s not been answering his phone. I was about to send Morgan over there to check on him, if you want to go with him.”  
Riley wasn’t about to pass up the ride and yet, something in her didn’t want to move. No matter how many conversations you had with yourself it never really prepared you for the moment. 

“C’mon. Let’s get moving.” Morgan picked her shoulder with his fingers as he passed, waiting for her at the door in case she needed his help. After a moment she stood, said her goodbyes and limped to join him. As a gesture of good will, Morgan extended an arm to escort her from the building. Riley gladly took it but declined to speak to him. She hadn’t seen Morgan since he helped in her transfer from Omaha to New York City. It wasn’t a gentle goodbye but there was no true bad blood between them. Reid had unintentionally made it difficult for both of them and now neither knew what to say. All Morgan could do was help her into the SUV. She didn’t look so good now.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Morgan shut the door behind him, shifting the keys in his hand as he watched her rubbing her leg. She was obviously still in pain but deep down he knew she was as stubborn as Reid and he would have no chance of convincing her to turn around and go home. Hell, Morgan didn’t really want her to turn around and run like Reid had done. The situation wasn’t even his own and still he couldn’t help but feel like he wanted to get some closure, see how it would pan out. 

“I need to talk to him Derek.” She said gravely. “I need to know what happened. Why he walked away. I don’t think I can really rest until I know.”

Morgan started the vehicle and prompted her to put on her seatbelt as they turned out of the lot and out onto the road. He had no answers for her, just ideas of what he thought Reid’s reasoning was. He had known Reid long enough to have a damn good guess as to why he was doing all of this, and the shame that had undoubtedly driven him into solitude. Perhaps Riley could lure him out. 

“All this time I’ve been wondering…why? Did he protect me because he felt it was his duty as an FBI agent to get us out alive? Or did her really care about me? The cycle is vicious. Seems like I keep going in circles and I don’t think I can rest until I get answers. And Reid…he was so torn the whole time we were in captivity. I truly felt for him. I care about him and I guess a part of me wants to think that he needs the closure too.”

“Reid does things sometimes that he thinks is best, but he doesn’t always seems to get that it may not be. Just…don’t read into it too much. Honestly, I’ll be surprised if we can get him to open the door today. When Maeve died, it took a long time for us to get in there to him and help him. You may not get to talk to him at all.” Morgan thought it only fair to give her a warning as they pulled up to Reid’s apartment building. Riley stared up at the brick building like a tower hiding away a treasure. Only, she didn’t know what was guarding that treasure. 

Trekking to the second floor proved more challenging than either of them had expected and once they reached the landing, Riley had to rest for a moment before approaching Reid’s door. Morgan rapped on the door with his knuckles and at first got no answer. Then he tried again.

“Reid, it’s Morgan. Hotch wants me to check on you. You doin alright kid?” He listened hard and he could hear a faint shuffling on the other side. Then he could feel pressure on the door. Reid was looking through the peep hole. Morgan’s dark eyes glanced over his shoulder to see Riley fidgeting with her nails nervously. Reid knew she was there. Morgan heard what sounded like Reid leaning against the door and sliding down to the floor. He wasn’t about to come out or even speak to them but Morgan knew he was alive and safe at least. “Sorry Palmer. Not today.” Morgan stepped away and tried to lead Riley away from the door, then he started on without her, plodding down the stairs. 

Riley did not follow. Brow set in determination she strode to the window at the end of the landing and raised it. Wind blew in around her as she looked out and down. The ground seemed to plummet below her and for a moment she thought she would be sick, but the other window was in sight. It was far away but she had to get to Reid. He was in the, all alone and all Riley could think about was him sitting in the darkness, tormenting himself for the things he had been forced to do to her. With a deep breath she put herself through the window. Morgan realized she wasn’t behind him anymore and raced back up on the landing, but Riley was already out on the tiny ledge outside, shimmying her way across on fingertips and toes, her leg throbbing so hard she could feel her heartbeat in every appendage. It was only the second floor but the high ceilings in the building made the drop sickening.

“What are you doing Palmer?” Morgan leaned out the window, frantic at the thought of her falling. The fall might kill her and he would have a hard time explaining to Reid and Hotch why he let her traipse on out the window and shimmy across the side of the building.

“I told you…I have to talk to him. Go back Morgan. I’ll be fine.” Riley had reached the window and pushed up on it with the palm of her hand. The window slid open wide enough for her to slip in feet first. Morgan breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes closing as his head dropped. He hardly realized how hard he was gripping the windowsill. But she was safe inside with Reid and it seemed they would both get what they wanted. Closure. Morgan pulled away from the window and closed it quietly. One last look at the door marked 23 and he turned and left, deciding to wait in the lobby for her.

Inside the apartment Riley was in a little room, too dark to really tell its purpose. Nothing was making a sound in the apartment so she wondered if Reid even knew she was in here. Who would really expect someone to come through a window?

Quietly she padded across the floor to a cracked door. Outside she could see tall windows with curtains drawn. They were thin and didn’t block much light but it was enough to make the room dim, a few strands of pure light drifted around the edges of the curtains, dust motes falling like snow through the light and down onto stacks of books. The apartment was disheveled, books and papers littered every surface and then Riley saw him.

Hair a mess, clothes wrinkled, wrapped in a blanket and sitting against the door with his head back and eyes closed. He always had dark circles under his eyes but now they were exaggerated with lack of sleep and paling of skin. The cut under his eye had all but healed and a pale green bruise encircled it. He didn’t hear her. A bottle was clutched in his hand and Riley thought of his dilaudid addiction. Surely he hadn’t turned back to the drugs to ease his pain? Her heart caught in her throat as she watched him.

Stepping from the shadows, she wished she knew what to say. Instead she rushed toward him, dropping to her knees before him and leaning over him as she pulled the bottle from his hand and threw it away from him, sending it skittering across the hardwood floor, glancing off a chair leg before coming to rest next to the wall. “Reid” She whispered through tears as she braced on her hands and laid her forehead on his shoulder, waiting to see how he would react. The motion from the door to here was so fast that Reid hardly had to time to speak her name before her head was on his shoulder. What was going on? Why was she here?

“Riley?” He questioned, pressing his cheek against her dark curls, remembering the scent like it was just yesterday that he last saw her. The weeks had been long and he had not fared well. He had become careless in the field and Hotch had forced him to take some vacation time but he took no vacation. He locked himself away, stuck in a sea of grief and remorse, not just for Riley but for Maeve. Riley was alive and he had saved them but in his mind he had been the one that almost killed her. He chose to do those things, whether it was for the best or not. 

Riley pulled back, holding his face in her hands, trying to inspect him for overdose. “Reid, are you alright? Please tell me you didn’t take the pills.”

“No, the bottle’s been empty I just.” He couldn’t look at her. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you again. Reid….I know you blame yourself but I don’t. You saved us. You saved me.” She leaned back, lingering a few inches from his face, placing her hands back on the floor to support her weight. “I needed to tell you that I forgive you and that I’m not going anywhere. I’m here.” Her blue eyes pleaded with his to accept her forgiveness and to allow her back into his life. But she was only met with confusion.

“But why? I don’t…”He shook his head.

“For a genius, sometimes you’re so clueless it hurts.” Riley leaned in and kissed his lips, feeling the soft flesh as a of energy ripple through her body. She needed it so badly but she never expected to feel his hand on her face, fingers sliding under her hair to cradle her head as he returned her kiss. “I love you Reid.”

“Riley…” His eyes closed as she pressed her forehead to his. What should he do? There was no denying that he cared greatly for her. She had haunted his dreams since they escaped and he knew he wanted her to be with him but…was he ready for that? A part of him screamed to return her love, but another part held him back and sadly, that part was too strong for him. “I thought I told you to call me Spencer.” Was all he could manage to say. He could almost feel her retreating but it took a moment for her to withdraw from him physically. She wiped away her tears and composed herself. 

Shakily she stood, offering him her hand. Her strength wasn’t back yet but she wasn’t about to leave him sitting in front of the door like that. Again his brow furrowed in confusion. He had denied her what she wanted most and she was still offering her hand. 

“It doesn’t matter if you return my feelings or not. What I said still stands.” She spoke in a whisper. Her feelings were not going to fade so quickly but she knew she couldn’t stay here any longer. Help him and leave. He took her hand and she helped him to stand, then find his way to the couch. Once he was laying down there she found his phone and a phonebook. He watched her with painful curiosity as she ordered him some food, paid with a card, and told them where to deliver it. Once she hung up she froze, took a deep breath, then started stacking books and papers around the couch and cleared the coffee table for him to have a place to eat. “Make sure you eat Spencer. I have to go now. Morgan is waiting for me.” She couldn’t force herself to sound happy. Walking out of this apartment now meant she might never see or speak to him again. It wasn’t; like her to force people to stay in her life. She just needed to tell him how she felt. That had been done, so the ball was in his court now. It was his choice if he wanted her to stick around or not. She didn’t look at him as she walked away, her hand touched the knob of the door and his voice stopped her.

“How can you forgive me so easily? How can you say you love me after all of that?”

Riley paused. “Spencer…when I first met you, I was so intimidated by your abilities as a profiler. Then when you showed me an act of kindness on the plane, I felt something for you. I don’t know why. It was way too soon. But interacting with you before and during our abduction, I knew you were so much like me. A kindred soul. I watched you so closely, even when you thought I was sleeping, I was watching you. I knew you were in as much pain as I was, even if it was in a different way. You didn’t want to do those things. I knew you didn’t so I can’t blame you like I blame Tucker. I don’t believe in love at first sight. It just doesn’t work like that and I don’t know, maybe I just care about you a lot. I’ve never really been in love before but I do know that I want to be here. I don’t want to leave here and never speak to you again. If you don’t feel the same way, I understand but I want you to know…”She inhaled, her breath shaking as she forced back tears. “That you’re my hero.” The knob turned in her hand and she opened the door, only be to called back a second time.

“Riley, wait.” Reid knew he couldn’t let her walk away like this. “Call me when you get back to New York.” This time she looked back at him and nodded, with no sign of a smile. She imply nodded and turned to leave again. “And tomorrow when you wake up.” That halted her again. It was her turn to look at him in confusion. “And the day after that.” A single tear ran down her cheek as she smiled at him, nodded, and turned to leave, a spark of hope in the both of them that someday things could be different. She closed the door and when he was sure she was gone, he spoke into the dim light of his living room. “I love you Riley. I’m just not ready.” 

 

 

“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat,  
in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”   
― Sarah Dessen


End file.
